LIVERPOOL TO HOST LEICESTER AS PREMIER LEAGUE ACTION RETURNS

Another big night at Anfield beckons as Liverpool return to Premier League action by welcoming Leicester City to Merseyside.

Jurgen Klopp’s side return to league action after a 3-1 victory of Championship side Cardiff City in the FA Cup 4th Round on Sunday. In that game January signing, Luis Diaz, made his club debut and marked it with an assist for Minamino’s goal.

To make things better for Klopp’s men, top goalscorer Mo Salah returned from the Africa Cup of Nations on Tuesday and has told his manager that he wants to start the game against the Foxes on Thursday.

It means that the Liverpool manager has a fully fit squad to choose from apart from captain Jordan Henderson who is to be assessed due to a knock picked up in the Caridff tie. Klopp will also be without Sadio Mane who is expected to return to Merseyside from AFCON but won’t be ready to play against Leicester.

In terms of Leicester, Brendan Rogers won’t have a number of traditional first team players to choose from including Castagne, Evans and Vardy all out through thigh injuries and also Ryan Bertrand won’t be available due to a knee injury.

After Leicester’s 4-1 defeat to Championship side Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup 4th Round on Sunday, a visit to Anfield is the last thing they will want to see in the schedule especially as they are without key striker Jamie Vardy.

So after Manchester City achieved a 2-0 home win against Brentford on Wednesday night, Liverpool will be looking to keep on the coattails of the league leaders with a win over Leicester. However the Red’s don’t have a great record with fixtures on a Thursday winning only 6 of the 15 league games played on a Thursday (6W, 3D, 6L).

On the other hand, Leicester will look to make it back into the top half of the table if they pick up all 3 points at Anfield. If the Foxes do win on the road it will be their third consecutive win over Klopp’s men, however the two previous victories have come at the King Power Stadium. Adding to that stat, Leicester are on a run of 4 winless Premier league away games (2D, 2L) including a 1-1 draw with Brighton in their last league away trip.

The last time the two sides met at Anfield in the league was in November 2020 and Liverpool came out with a 3-0 victory with goals from Jota and Firmino and also an own goal from Jonny Evans. The Red’s had 24 attempts with 13 on target compared to Leicester’s 4 shots on the home goal throughout the 90 minutes.

So a Thursday night clash at Anfield awaits in a game that is all but guaranteed to offer up excitement and drama, as the league’s top scorers host a team who’ve scored in every away game this season.