MX23RW : Saturday, December 14 15:05:10| >> :60:567:567:
[monks data]
Leicester logo
Premier League
Dec 2, 2014 at 7.45pm UK
 
Liverpool logo

1-3

Mignolet (22' og.)
FT(HT: 1-1)
Lallana (26'), Gerrard (54'), Henderson (83')

Preview: Leicester City vs. Liverpool

Sports Mole previews Liverpool's Premier League visit to Leicester, who will seek a first win in nine against a Reds side who have just ended their own miserable run.

Liverpool are poised to recall Steven Gerrard for their Premier League trip to Leicester City on Tuesday evening.

On the 16th anniversary of his Reds debut, the club captain started on the bench for the late victory over Stoke City, which took them to 11th in the table.

With manager Brendan Rodgers admitting in the aftermath of the result that he was unaware of the significance of the date, rumours began circulating of a fallout between him and Liverpool's long-serving skipper.

However, Gerrard strongly refuted those reports on Sunday and is believed to be closer to prolonging his legendary Anfield career now that the club have finally offered him an extension to his expiring contract.

The 34-year-old has been accused of underperforming this season, but it was not until after his 75th-minute introduction against the Potters that Glen Johnson scored to end Liverpool's five-match winless streak.

Leicester will be hoping to end their own miserable run of form when the Merseysiders visit the Midlands, with two points from a possible 24 condemning them to the bottom of the table for the first time since promotion.

They have not won since the last time that they welcomed North-West giants to the King Power Stadium - the famous 5-3 victory over Manchester United in September, in which they twice came from two goals down.

Nigel Pearson will be desperately searching for positives and may take something from the fact that the Foxes at least ended a 504-minute scoring drought in the 3-2 defeat to Queens Park Rangers on Saturday.

The 51-year-old has no new injury worries, with Matthew Upson and Ben Hamer his only first-team absentees, and therefore could name the same starting XI which narrowly lost out in a thriller at Loftus Road.

Matty James is now the favoured partner of decorated midfielder Esteban Cambiasso, who is preparing for his first footballing Christmas, while Jeffrey Schlupp and Leonardo Ulloa should keep their places.

Rodgers could stick with Lucas Leiva in a holding role and instead sacrifice Joe Allen to give Gerrard more attacking licence. Dejan Lovren was also dropped on Saturday and will again find Kolo Toure preferred in defence.

There will be a fourth start in succession for striker Rickie Lambert in the absence of Daniel Sturridge and Mario Balotelli, while his former Southampton teammate Adam Lallana is pushing Philippe Coutinho for a chance.

Leicester:

Recent form: LLLLDL

Possible starting lineup: Schmeichel; De Laet, Morgan, Wasilewski, Konchesky; Mahrez, Cambiasso, James, Schlupp; Vardy, Ulloa

Liverpool:

Form in Premier League: WDLLLW
Form in all competitions: LLLLDW

Possible starting lineup: Mignolet; Johnson, Toure, Skrtel, Enrique; Lucas, Gerrard, Henderson, Lallana; Sterling, Lambert

Sports Mole says: 1-1


ID:191145: cacheID:191145:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:7158:
Written by
Joe Fish
No Data Analysis info

Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!


Restore Data
Share this article now:
Steven Gerrard of Liverpool looks on during the Barclays Premier League match between Liverpool and Chelsea at Anfield on April 27, 2014
Read Next:
Team News: Gerrard, Lovren benched by Liverpool
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool14112129111835
2Chelsea1594235181731
3Arsenal1585229151429
4Manchester CityMan City158342721627
5Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest157441918125
6Aston Villa157442323025
7Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton156632522324
8Bournemouth157352320324
9Brentford157263128323
10Fulham156542220223
11Tottenham HotspurSpurs1562731191220
12Newcastle UnitedNewcastle155551921-220
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd155461918119
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham155372028-818
15Everton143561421-714
16Leicester CityLeicester153572130-914
17Crystal Palace152761420-613
18Ipswich TownIpswich151681427-139
19Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1523102338-159
20Southampton1512121131-205


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!