Leicester to win battle of third and fourth
Third place Leicester City welcome nearest rivals and reigning champions Liverpool to the King Power Stadium for the early Saturday kick-off in this weekend's slate of Premier League fixtures. The Foxes will be keen to exact revenge for the heavy 3-0 reverse at Anfield against what appeared on paper to be a weakened Reds side. Much has happened since then, and Jürgen Klopp's men have really struggled for any semblance of consistency in 2021, hampered by long-term injuries in central defence, but also a generalised sense of fatigue and underperformance in the squad. A win for the hosts would put pressure on the two Manchester clubs and six points between them and the faltering Merseysiders. Read our preview here:
Justin time?
Leicester's last-gap win over Brighton & Hove Albion in the FA Cup fifth round in midweek came at the cost of a knee injury to versatile wing-back James Justin. The former Luton Town star has been a huge plus for Brendan Rodgers this term, more often filling in on the left flank than his favoured right. With Timothy Castagne definitely ruled out, Justin's enforced exclusion will mean a reshuffle of wide options. Ricardo Pereira might be asked to take that berth, leaving Marcus Albrighton the dificult job of picking up Sadio Mané and Andrew Robertson's darts from full-back. Elsewhere, the hugely impressive Wesley Fofana is also out, which might mean Christian Fuchs comes in on the left of the defensive three. Jamie Vardy should start, and that is where the biggest intrigue of the tactical clash will take place...
Sing Ozan-a!
At least one of Liverpool's new centre backs will line up on Saturday, with Schalke 04 loanee Ozan Kabak the likeliest to get the nod. Whilst Fabinho has generally been superb in the same role, that pairing is completely untested, and it will be a baptism of fire against Vardy and his supporting cast of James Maddison and Harvey Barnes making runs off and beyond the trickiest striker in the top tier. Worse still, Alisson's confidence will be extremely low after a series of unforced errors handed Manchester City a huge victory last weekend, and his every pass will be under intense scrutiny, not only on the pitch, but also off it from fans and pundits alike. Roberto Firmino remains in poor form, and the burden of scoring has fallen ever more heavily on Mo Salah, especially from the penalty spot. Thiago has yet to have anything like the same impact the injured Diogo Jota has from an attacking midfield role, and there is a disjointed feel to the two banks of three at present.
Klopped it
As ever, it would be churlish to completely discount Liverpool from getting at least a point. They arguably have seven or perhaps eight of their strongest XI available, and other sides around them have had to endure lengthy injuries to key men. Rodgers will want to right the wrongs of the reverse fixture, and get one over his former employers whilst boosting his current team's burgeoning Champions League credentials. Klopp meanwhile will be desperate to see a better level of performance from his troops, and there is less wiggle room than ever - five teams below them in the standings are within the same number of points, and a couple of them have games in hand. The talk is now of holding onto a top four spot, rather than retaining their crown. Betfair are offering ridiculously long odds of 3.50 for a Leicester win.
