Leicester City vs Liverpool
Leicester City host Liverpool in a mouth-watering Premier League clash on Tuesday, just a week after the two teams last came face to face.
They clashed last week in the EFL Cup and, after a late, late comeback the Reds scraped through on penalties and that must have been hard to take for Brendan Rodgers’ side after they had dominated for much of the game. The Leicester boss would dearly love to put one over his former club and give the Foxes’ fans something to smile about, but Jurgen Klopp’s side desperately needs a win, having dropped six points behind league leaders Manchester City, who beat Leicester in a nine goal thriller at the weekend.
The title race is gathering pace; the mid table hosts won’t be involved but they could still challenge for a European place if they can find some consistency; and a win over Liverpool would be a great way to sign off from 2021.
Talking Points
Fighting Foxes might be punch drunk
Leicester’s Boxing Day trip to the Etihad turned into a festive feast of goals but, while the Foxes scored three against the best defence in England, their own rearguard unfortunately shipped six goals. The most encouraging aspect of the game for Rodgers was that his midfield star James Maddison continued his excellent run of form. He forced a great save from Ederson when the Foxes were just two down and finished coolly to pull a goal back early in the second half, before making an assist as Leicester fought hard to get back in the game. He’s now been involved in eight goals in his last five games, he has scored four times and made four assists and his continued form will be pivotal to Leicester’s European hopes.
Youri Tielemens has proved what a fine player he is over the past two seasons but he’s struggled for form a little and gave away two penalties in the first half at Manchester City; but he too can be a real attacking threat. Rodgers used his squad for the Boxing Day game and rested striker Jamie Vardy. The experienced poacher has nine league goals already and sits third in the race for the Golden Boot, behind two Liverpool players, so he must be in line for a return. Vardy scored twice early on in Leicester’s EFL Cup exit to the Reds and he’ll be itching to get at them again.
Rodgers was without key players Wilfried Ndidi, Timothy Castagne and Caglar Soyuncu against the Sky Blues and their absence makes the Foxes easier to break down. Leicester will hope to have one or two key returns for this huge clash.
Van Dijk available for the Reds
Liverpool’s Boxing Day postponement has helped Klopp to reassemble his squad including three players out of isolation. Virgil Van Dijk, Fabinho and Curtis Jones have all returned to training and Van Dijk is sure to start in the centre of defence, probably alongside Joel Matip, who has fallen back into favour; while Joe Gomez still has hopes of staking his claim.
The big Dutchman has been out of action since Liverpool’s 3-1 victory over Newcastle’s after testing positive for Covid 19, but his seven day isolation period is up. Midfielder Thiago Alcantara is unlikely to make the game at the King Power as he is still in isolation, while wing-back Andrew Robertson will sit this one out, having picked up a red card in Liverpool’s 2-2 draw with Spurs.
The latest Premier League 2021 betting odds are right behind current leaders Manchester City and this is a must win for the Reds at odds of 1.44. And they will be confident of stretching the Leicester defence, particularly if it remains short of players, and the two strikers ahead of Vardy will relish the opportunity.
Mo Salah, with 15 goals, and Diogo Jota, with ten, have been in sensational form and their firepower will keep the Reds in the title race.
History
Liverpool have had twice as many successes as their hosts in this fixture, winning 18 to Leicester’s nine in the Premier League era.
And the Reds have won six, drawn two and lost one match away from home in the league this season and are unbeaten in ten games; while the Foxes come into the game with one win in six.
Betting Tip
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 | Leicester City vs Liverpool | First Half Over 1.25 @ 1.88 |
| December 29, 04:00 (GMT+8) |
At SBOTOP odds of 6.37 the Foxes have a tough job on here though a draw, at a price of 4.17, is well within reach.
Leicester’s Premier League 2021 results have been a little erratic for sure but there have been plenty of goals and the Foxes will give the Reds a game in front of their own fans. The last five meetings between these two attack-minded sides have yielded three goals or more; and a bet on Over 3.00 goals at odds of 1.75 is a good alternative.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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 = €20 (Highly confident) |
= €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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