Premier League: Liverpool Beware the Wounded Foxes

Liverpool vs Leicester City

Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool are back in the Premier League chase on Thursday when they welcome an old face to Anfield as former boss Brendan Rodgers brings Leicester City to his old stomping ground.

The Foxes’ manager is under a little pressure at the moment since his side is 10th in the league table and 10 points behind seventh-placed Spurs, so a return to Europe next season looks highly unlikely, particularly as they have just been dumped out of the FA Cup.

Liverpool come into the game on the back of an FA Cup win over second-tier Cardiff City while Leicester were humiliated by Nottingham Forest from the same division.

So the Foxes will be licking their wounds and hoping to strike back against a much-tougher opponent on Thursday as the title-chasing Reds are set to welcome back two of their most dangerous strikers.

Talking Points

AFCON heroes return for Liverpool

The African Cup of Nations final brought together two of Liverpool’s star strikers as Egypt’s Mohamed Salah and Senegal’s Sadio Mane came face-to-face in the showcase final.

In the end, it was Mane smiling and consoling his friend as the Lions of Taranga ran out winners after a penalty shootout in which the Reds man scored the final spot kick.

Salah has already said he wants to play against Leicester and if he is fit to start then why not. He has 16 goals from 20 league games and at a SBOTOP price of 1.25, Salah is a hot prospect to win the Golden Boot.

Mane may be rested and if so, then Diogo Jota will continue his run in the side which has brought him 10 goals this season.

Central defender Virgil van Dijk has been crucial to Liverpool’s success in recent seasons and he popped up with the opener in the Reds last league outing, a 3-1 win away to Crystal Palace, while defencive midfielder Fabinho was also on target.

Premier League: Sadio Mane helped Senegal win the AFCON finals — Sadio Mane receives player of the tournament award

The latest Premier League 2022 betting odds have installed Liverpool as clear second favourites to win the 2022 title at a price of 7.00, and this is a game their big players know they must win to keep the dream alive.

Lamentable Leicester must improve

The Foxes’ defeat to Nottingham Forest left head coach Brendan Rodgers apoplectic with rage, leading him to suggest that some members of his squad are “not top players” and need to start playing much better if they are to have a future at the club.

He has been beset by long-term injuries to centre-back Jonny Evans and main striker Jamie Vardy. And while there has been a reliance on Vardy for goals for many seasons, the loss of Evans was clearly evident in an incompetent display at the back against the Championship side.

Caglar Soyuncu and Daniel Amartey are not a convincing centre-back pairing and that means the Foxes’ forwards will need to be firing on all cylinders if they are to take anything away from Anfield.

Further forward, the creative ability of James Maddison and Youri Tielemans is undoubted and they now face competition from Harvey Barnes, who has returned from a long lay-off, and the emerging talent of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is pushing for a start.

Zambian striker Patson Daka has shown plenty of promise and has scored four goals in nine games.

The Foxes have been trying to find some top six form, but a recent clash with Spurs showed how vulnerable they can be as they conceded two injury-time goals to lose 3-2.

History

Liverpool have had the better of the head-to-head meetings, winning 18 to the Foxes 10, while there have been six draws in all meetings since 1994.

But Rodgers will remind his players that, while their Premier League 2022 results have been patchy at best, only six weeks ago they beat Liverpool 1-0 at the King Power Stadium as Ademola Lookman scored the only goal of the game.

The Reds are unbeaten at home, winning seven and drawing three at Anfield, and they have not lost at home to Leicester in their last 11 encounters.

Betting Tip

	Liverpool vs Leicester City	Over 3.50 @ 1.90
	February 11, 03:45 (GMT+8)

So it is no surprise that the odds are clearly in the Reds’ favour, with a home win priced at 1.26 while the draw is at odds of 5.60 and Leicester are way out at 8.92 to pick up all three points. The Foxes will surely be better than they were against Nottingham Forest and they know that Liverpool are not as invincible as they were in 2020, so I’m hoping for an attacking intent from the visitors which will yield goals at both ends.