2022-2023 PL: Liverpool vs. Leicester City

All-Time Head-to-Head
-Leicester City: 41 wins
-Liverpool: 52 wins
-25 draws

Last 5 Premier League Results
-10 Feb. 2022 (LC): Liverpool 2, Leicester City 0
-28 Dec. 2021 (LIV): Leicester City 1, Liverpool 0
-13 Feb. 2021 (LC): Leicester City 3, Liverpool 1
-22 Nov. 2020 (LIV): Liverpool 3, Leicester City 0
-26 Dec. 2019 (LC): Liverpool 4, Leicester City 0

Liverpool make just one change from the side that beat Aston Villa 3-1 on Boxing Day as Harvey Elliott comes in for Fabinho, who is not in the matchday squad. France defender Ibrahima Konate returns after having time off following the World Cup final and takes his place on the bench.


Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers makes two changes from the side that lost 3-0 to Newcastle last-time out.

Ayoze Perez and Wilfred Ndidi both come in as James Maddison misses out through injury.

Harry Poole, BBC Sport: Within "punching distance" - but still a "long arm" away. Jurgen Klopp continued with his boxing analogy prior to kick-off at Villa Park on Monday as Liverpool began their post-World Cup bid to earn a Premier League top-four place.

The 3-1 victory that followed, hours after fourth-placed Tottenham were held by Brentford, means they now have more than a fighting chance.

Darwin Nunez - having scored twice in Liverpool's last league outing against Southampton in November - will hope to rediscover his goalscoring form at the earliest opportunity after missing a host of big chances against Aston Villa.

But his relentless efforts contributed towards a crucial away victory - only Liverpool's second in seven away league games this season - which saw the Reds win three on the bounce in the competition for the first time this term.

Despite their early season struggles, Klopp's side now sit within five points of Spurs having played one game fewer and this was another step in the right direction for last season's runners-up, who return to Anfield next to face Leicester City on Friday.

(The Guardian) Jurgen Klopp on Pelé. “My dad always said that, whatever happens in the future, Pelé was the best. So that’s in my mind. I saw him only as a kid playing, but I met him once around the 2006 World Cup, and [genuine childlike excitement sparkles in his eyes] I have a signed shirt which he gave to me for my birthday, which is pretty special! So it feels really tough to be honest. Yeah. Let me say it like this: I believe in God and whichever team he’s playing now for, they have a decent player. So everything will be fine. But of course it will be a massive loss and may he rest in peace.”

---

Klopp – who is talking to Sky Sports – moves onto tonight’s match. “Stats are not too important. We lost the last one against them, and I can feel that if I think about it. You see that Leicester had a difficult start into the season like we did, but they found a way into it. Their line-up has a lot of speed, when they play against us they kick the ball long, so we don’t know exactly, we have to be ready for everything. It’s Anfield, and it’s a long time ago we played here. We couldn’t wait and now we have to create an atmosphere.”

(The Guardian) … and to complete a Klopp triptych, here he is on Cody Gakpo. “We have had interest in Cody for a long time. You know our situation, and we cannot just pick players and put them on top and top and top all the time. We need to collect money a little bit before we can spend a bit, and then we can collect again. So Cody is a very interesting player. He was really well-respected and loved at PSV and we think it is the right moment to put him in. He can play in all four [forward] positions, and that’s pretty rare. He has size, physicality, can shoot from outside the box, has a good nose for finishing, is quick, a good dribbler. There are so many things to be excited about. Usually players develop quite well with us, and he is already really good.”

(The Guardian) Rodgers on Pelé. “You have seen the outpouring, the tributes. When he was last here [at Anfield] it was 2015 and I was still manager here. He always reminds me of my father, who loved Pelé, that was his idol, so when I seen [the news] my first thought was of my dad, who has obviously passed away as well. But the outpouring of emotion, the tributes by everyone, it really tells you what he was as a player, but also as a person, and his legend will live on forever, for sure.”

(The Guardian) The reason for Fabinho’s omission from the squad: his wife has gone into labour. “We hope to have some good news from him in a couple of hours,” Klopp reports. Best wishes to Rebeca Tavares and Fabinho.