Tuesday sees the return to football for Liverpool with a trip to Leicester City, six days on from what was a fascinating cup tie against the Foxes. A penalty shootout victory for Liverpool was the reward for a spirited second half display, with the Reds taking advantage of a depleted Leicester defence and really highlighting the issues Brendan Rodgers has.
Those issues were even further rubber stamped in his side’s 6-3 defeat to league leaders Manchester City. Leicester were 4-0 down within 25 minutes and really showed just how weak they are defensively, conceding from set pieces, switching off and showing a lack of concentration.
Despite an inspired second-half performance in which they scored three good goals, more defensive slackness took any chances of a comeback away from them. After Liverpool’s game against Leeds was postponed, the last thing Leicester need is a game against a fresh opposition, kicking off just 50 hours after the game against Manchester City concluded. Freshness aside, Liverpool are also boosted by the return of Fabinho, Curtis Jones, Thiago and Virgil Van Dijk who all had COVID-related setbacks in recent weeks.
Leicester’s absentees are notable ones. He has already confirmed that Danny Ward and Harvey Barnes will be missing from the squad, as well as the recent injuries to Caglar Soyuncu, Ricardo Pereira and Patson Daka, all of whom suffered injuries in the recent defeat at Anfield.
With Wesley Fofana, Jonny Evans and James Justin already missing, Liverpool could have a field day going forward against what will be a very weakened defence. Vestergaard and Bertrand have both shown in recent weeks that they are not quite up to the level necessary in this division, whilst Luke Thomas is still a young defender learning his trade in the highest division.
Coming up against yet another world class side, Rodgers will be torn in his approach to the game, knowing that they have the ability to hurt Liverpool going forwards whilst also not wanting to overcommit. The first half against City was the epitome of why chasing a game can be dangerous against sides of their calibre, but we saw in the second half just how effective they can be on the counter attack.
James Maddison, Kelechi Iheanacho and Ademola Lookman all had terrific second halves, they toyed with City’s defenders and were relentless. Against Liverpool, can Rodgers trust his defensive unit to hold their shape? For counter attacking to work effectively, a structured, organised back line is necessary and with the players at his disposal, such a tactic may be beyond them.
From his recent press conferences, it is clear that Rodgers is absolutely desperate for players to return, but in the meantime, he simply needs to rally his troops and keep going until the window is open. He can take some positivity from Leicester’s recent attacking output, and although they are coming up against the 3rd best defence in the league, recent games against Newcastle and Man City have shown just how dangerous their attacking players are.
Although it was against a weakened Liverpool, the counter attack worked extremely well in the first half and a similar idea will undoubtedly be explored here. Jamie Vardy was an unused substitute in the Boxing Day defeat, so it is likely he will come into the side to face the Reds. Likewise, I expect Ndidi to regain his place in the side too despite a difficult second half at Anfield. The expectation here is that Liverpool will have too much for Leicester, but if Rodgers can inspire his players to battle on through the fatigue barrier, then the Foxes can certainly cause a few problems of their own.
Predicted XI: Schmeichel, Castagne, Ndidi, Amartey, Bertrand, Tielemans, Soumare, Maddison, Lookman, Iheanacho, Vardy
