Liverpool vs Leicester
| Thursday, December 26th |
Premier League | Anfield
8PM BST / 3PM ET
Fresh off a classic trouncing of Tottenham that nevertheless had some moments the manager will be unhappy about, Liverpool make the quick turnaround to play hosts to Leicester, as Ruud van Nistelrooy’s charges look to get some distance between themselves and the relegation spots.
The Foxes have had a predictably rough return to the league, and only the misfortunes of Wolverhampton have kept them out of the relegation zone thus far. With only five points from their last nine games, it would appear that van Nistelrooy has a considerable challenge on his hands. Fortunately, there’s a silver lining behind every cloud, and after traveling to Liverpool, Leicester will host Manchester City.
The visitors haven’t won at Anfield since May of 2000, and with veterans Jamie Vardy and Jordan Ayew accounting for fully half of their goals this season, there is little secrecy about where they will put their trust tomorrow night. Issahaku Fatawu, Wilfried Ndidi, Mads Hermansen and Ricardo Pereira all miss out with injury.
Projected Liverpool Lineup (4-3-3)
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, van Dijk, Tsimikas; Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Szoboszlai; Núñez, Jota, Salah
For the Reds, Alisson will be back between the sticks, eager to collect a clean sheet after conceding thrice at the weekend, while Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joe Gomez and Virgil van Dijk are set to reprise their roles. Andrew Robertson could see some bench time with Kostas Tsimikas coming into the side. Conor Bradley and Ibrahima Konaté remain unavailable.
In midfield, Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai are the preferred trio, while Curtis Jones could potentially replace either of the latter two as he is in line for his 100th Premier League appearance in Red. Harvey Elliott is a dark horse to start after a cameo at the weekend.
Up top, Mohamed Salah will start, of course, as the Egyptian looks to beat his own record of goals and assists before the new year and chase down Andy Cole and Harry Kane on the all-time list. Darwin Núñez and Diogo Jota featured only limited minutes at the weekend and could potentially start against a Leicester side that is expected to sit deep and absorb pressure.
What the Managers Said
Arne Slot: “Leicester will view our match as an opportunity to climb higher, so they will come to Anfield looking to make life as difficult for us as possible. From my experience, I know how tough it is to play against Ruud van Nistelrooy’s teams, and I expect that the longer they work with him, the more Leicester will begin to embody his coaching philosophy.”
Ruud van Nistelrooy: “We have to be very compact, we have to be ready to know what we’re facing. We have to be ready to play, too. It will be a great task but it’s a great chance to develop in all areas in the game, and that will help us towards the finish line.”
The Officials
Referee: Darren Bond
Assistant referees: Scott Ledger, Matthew Wilkes
Fourth official: James Bell
VAR: Chris Kavanagh, Craig Taylor
Kickoff is set for 8PM GMT/3PM ET tomorrow, and television listings for the match can be found on LiveSoccerTV.
In the meantime, and as always, we’ll be keeping you updated with all the buildup to the game, including team news as it’s released, our live matchday thread, and post-match recaps from The Liverpool Offside staff. If you want to join the discussion, sign up for an SB Nation account to have your say on the action as it happens.