Days after they played out a thriller in the Carabao Cup, Leicester City and Liverpool will lock horns again, this time in the Premier League on Tuesday night.
Liverpool will be aiming to get back to winning ways in the Premier League when they travel to the King Power Stadium to take on Leicester City in their final game of 2021 on Tuesday night.
The 2-2 draw against Tottenham Hotspur last time out meant that Jurgen Klopp & co. lost crucial ground in the title race, with Manchester City managing to open up a six-point lead at the top of the table. Following the stalemate, the Reds were pushed to the brink by Leicester in the Carabao Cup last week as they fought back from three goals down to salvage a 3-3 draw before winning the tie on penalties. They will be hoping for a much easier win on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Leicester come into the game with just one victory from their last six games in all competitions. Having won 4-0 against Newcastle United, the Foxes came ever so close to beating Liverpool in the cup competition but yielded a great position of advantage to get eliminated. After that, Brendan Rodgers & co. were handed a 6-3 thrashing by Manchester City on Boxing Day, which will have hurt the morale of the team, despite the second-half fightback.
Ahead of this exciting match-up that could see plenty of goals at the King Power Stadium this midweek, The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at both teams.
Team News & Tactics
Leicester City
As many as nine players remain sidelined for Leicester City, with Jonny Evans, Patson Daka, Caglar Soyuncu, Harvey Barnes, Wesley Fofana, James Justin, Danny Ward, Ryan Bertrand and Ricardo Pereira unavailable for selection. Jamie Vardy and Wilfred Ndidi were not risked against Manchester City on Boxing Day but could be involved on Tuesday night.
The Foxes could be set for a change of shape, reverting to a back three after the mauling they were handed at the Etihad Stadium. Kasper Schmeichel will take up his usual spot in goal, where he will be shielded by the three-man defensive unit of Daniel Amartey, Ndidi and Jannik Vestergaard.
Timothy Castagne and Luke Thomas will occupy the wing-back slots and will have their task cut out against the marauding Liverpool full-backs. Boubakary Soumare will have the onus of offering further protection to the Leicester defence, with support coming from Youri Tielemans, who will also look to influence play going forward.
James Maddison, who has found his mojo back, will pose the biggest threat to the Liverpool defence with his creativity and eye for a goal. He will look to fashion chances for the strike partnership of Kelechi Iheanacho and Vardy.
Probable Lineup (3-4-1-2): Schmeichel; Amartey, Ndidi, Vestergaard; Castagne, Tielemans, Soumare, Thomas; Maddison; Iheanacho, Vardy
Liverpool
Liverpool have been handed a boost as Fabinho, Thiago Alcantara, Curtis Jones, and Virgil van Dijk are back in contention after recovering from coronavirus. However, Jurgen Klopp will have to make do without Harvey Elliott and Adrian while Andrew Robertson is suspended for the contest. Divock Origi is also a doubt for the match.
The Reds will field their strongest possible XI at the King Power Stadium, with Alisson Becker lining up in goal, where he will be shielded by the centre-back pairing of Ibrahima Konate and the returning van Dijk. Trent Alexander-Arnold and Kostas Tsimikas will take up their usual spots as full-backs.
The fit-again Fabinho ought to return to the side, slotting in at the base of the Liverpool midfield. He will have the task of keeping James Maddison quiet on the night. The Brazilian will likely be accompanied by captain Jordan Henderson and Naby Keita, although Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain could also be an option for Klopp to consider.
There is no looking past Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane in the attacking unit on the flanks, while Diogo Jota should get the nod ahead of Roberto Firmino once again in the No. 9 role.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, van Dijk, Tsimikas; Henderson, Fabinho, Keita; Salah, Jota, Mane
Key Stats
- Despite losing this exact fixture last season, Liverpool have won three of their last four away league games against Leicester City, more than they had in their previous nine such visits (W2 D3 L4).
- Leicester won their last league game against Liverpool 3-1 in February. They last won consecutive such matches versus the Reds in April 1999.
- Liverpool have not lost their final league game in any of the last seven calendar years (W6 D1), last doing so in a 2-1 defeat at Chelsea in 2013.
- Leicester have conceded 63 goals in 39 Premier League games in 2021. Only in 2001 (66) and 2017 (64) did they ship more in a single calendar year in the competition.
- Having lost two of their first four Premier League away games in 2021 (W2) – including a 3-1 loss at Leicester in February) – Liverpool have lost just one of their last 16 on the road in the competition (W12 D3).
Player to Watch
Diogo Jota
Diogo Jota couldn't resist celebrating right in front of the Leicester fans after scoring the winning penalty ? pic.twitter.com/6X2JJ8BmRK
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) December 23, 2021
The 25-year-old is enjoying a fine campaign so far, having managed to displace Roberto Firmino as the preferred choice in the No. 9 position. Jota is currently the second-highest goalscorer in the Premier League this term, bagging ten goals from 17 games, with only Liverpool teammate Mohamed Salah netting more.
The Portuguese international has scored four goals in his last four Premier League games against Leicester City, including a hat-trick while playing for Wolves in January 2019. Considering how woeful the Foxes defence has been of late, Jota will back himself to add to his tally on Tuesday night.
Prediction
Leicester City 1-3 Liverpool
Leicester City were hammered 6-3 by Manchester City on Boxing Day, although they did show good spirit to mount a fightback from 4-0 to make it 4-3 at one point. Nonetheless, their defence has been all over the place, and even though Wilfred Ndidi will likely be back, the Foxes could struggle to contain an in-form Liverpool frontline.
While the Reds themselves were shaky at the back in the cup tie against Leicester, the return of Fabinho and Virgil van Dijk should help the visitors tighten things up to a great extent. As a result, The Hard Tackle predicts Jurgen Klopp & co. to pick up all three points on Tuesday night, closing the gap to league leaders Manchester City.
