Four years ago yesterday, Brendan Rodgers was sacked as Liverpool manager. He had a disastrous end to his tenure at Anfield and his sacking was understandable. Now, Rodgers returns a wiser, better manager who is leading Leicester into the Champions League places.
Team news wise there are positives for both sides. Alisson is available for Liverpool but Klopp seems reluctant to risk him. However, Joel Matip remains sidelined, as does Xherdan Shaqiri. Leicester can welcome back James Maddison, whose performance will have a big say on the outcome of the game.
Liverpool and Leicester play similar brands of football. They press hard and play possession football. Both will also look for long balls to their pacy forwards to latch onto (Mane/Salah or Vardy). The Reds have an upper hand because, on paper, they have a better team.
I highlighted when Brendan Rodgers took the Leicester job that one of his key strengths was developing young players. He inherited a young squad with massive potential and is using that to great effect. Maddison, Soyuncu and Chilwell have stood out from the season so far but Liverpool away seems like a bridge too far for Leicester just yet.
Liverpool have won every single league game this season, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that they are the favourites. Leicester could be helped by Liverpool's European exploits but Klopp's squad has coped with the schedule well. This game will be great to watch (despite not being on TV, which isn't a problem), it's 1st vs 3rd. I'll go Liverpool 2-1. Salah to open the scoring, Vardy will equalise but Firmino will score the winner.
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