MX23RW : Monday, December 23 08:37:51| >> :120:31187:31187:
[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
1Liverpool16123137162139
2Chelsea17105237191835
3Arsenal1796234161833
4Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest179442319431
5Bournemouth178452721628
6Aston Villa178452626028
7Manchester CityMan City178362925427
8Newcastle UnitedNewcastle177552721626
9Fulham176742422225
10Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton176742726125
11Tottenham HotspurSpurs1772839251423
12Brentford177283232023
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd176472122-122
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham175572230-820
15Everton163761421-716
16Crystal Palace173771826-816
17Leicester CityLeicester173592137-1614
18Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1733112740-1312
19Ipswich TownIpswich172691632-1612
20Southampton1713131136-256


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!