Liverpool vs Leicester City
Liverpool’s bid to close the gap on the Premier League top four continues at Anfield this weekend as they encounter bottom-half underachievers Leicester City at Anfield.
Inspired by reportedly pipping fierce rivals Manchester United to the signature of PSV Eindhoven whizz-kid Cody Gakpo, Liverpool head into proceedings looking to extend their three-game winning Premier League run and tighten the noose on fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur. A 3-1 Boxing Day win at Aston Villa helped the ‘Reds’ climb to within a five-point distance of the Champions League places, but there’s no room for complacency. Back at Anfield, where they’ve only lost once in eight Premier League outings this season (W5, D2), Jurgen Klopp’s men are looking to build on their eye-catching 11-match home league form against Leicester (W9, D2). Having scored in their last 31 home fixtures in the Premier League, the hosts will be confident about pouring more misery on out-of-sorts Leicester.
Despite claiming back-to-back 2-0 wins at West Ham United and Everton on the eve of the World Cup break, Leicester’s hopes of steering away from the drop zone took a massive blow on Boxing Day as Newcastle United thrashed them 3-0 at the King Power Stadium. Stuck only four points clear of 18th-placed Wolverhampton Wanderers, the visitors can at least draw confidence from their outrageous away form, having won their last three league matches on the road by 2+ goals ‘to nil.’ With the pressure mounting on manager Brendan Rodgers, Leicester will be out to outperform a team from the upper half of the table for the first time this season and cap off a tumultuous 2022 on a high.
