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Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images
The Reds travel to Leicester hoping to extend their win streak to seven and keep their top-four aspirations alive.
LEICESTER CITY VS. LIVERPOOL
| Monday, May 15th |
Premier League | King Power Stadium
8PM GMT/3PM EST
The Reds are flying high with six wins on the trot, and there is still a chance for them to make the Champions League places if they can win out. Next in their way is relegation-threatened Leicester City.
The Foxes sit two points from safety in 19th place (with this match in hand) and will be desperately hoping to get something out of this game to give them a chance to survive.
Liverpool won the reverse fixture at Anfield 2-1 despite not actually scoring any goals. Leicester took the lead in the fourth minute, but the Reds came away the victors after defender Wout Faes scored a pair of own-goals in the final eight minutes of the first half to hand the home side the lead.
The top-four race isn’t any closer after Newcastle United and Manchester United played on Saturday. Newcastle did drops points in a 2-2 draw with Leeds United, but, like United, Newcastle would still need to drop points in two of their last three to put Liverpool in play for fourth place (assuming the Reds win out). For now, the focus is the same; win the next match and see what happens.
Predicted Liverpool Lineup (4-3-3)
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konaté, Van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson, Fabinho, Jones; Salah, Jota, Núñez
There’s nothing to report on the injury front. There are no new injuries, and the only player we may see return by season’s end is Roberto Firmino, who isn’t quite ready to go for this one.
After eight days rest we should see a full-strength XI. The back four are virtually a lock, and Alexander-Arnold is sure to be playing his hybrid right-back/midfield role again. Fabinho and Jones are likely to start in midfield. Henderson is probably the betting favorite for the last spot, but Elliott is also a possibility, and even Gakpo dropped back there for Brentford. So, there are a number of directions Klopp could go depending on how he wants to attack Leicester.
Up front is harder to predict. Salah is a given, but the other two spots could be taken by any of Jota, Núñez, Gakpo, or Díaz based on recent precedent. Regardless of which two of those four starts, the chances are good all of them will at least get a run-out.
What the Managers Had to Say
Dean Smith: “Six wins on the spin, and it seems like a difficult time to face them. But they’ve only taken 10 points from 30 on the road. We have to produce a Brighton or a Brentford performance against them.
“The key is to have as many players having 7 or 8 out of 10. We need to use the ball better and run harder.”
Jurgen Klopp: “I saw the game against Everton, they had really good spells, really good. When you’re in a relegation battle, we have to expect a team that wants to stay in the league and will fight for all they have.
“It will be a real fight and we have to be ready for that. They need all the points they can get. I expect a super difficult game.”
The Officials
Referee: Craig Pawson Assistants: Harry Lennard, Mark Perry Fourth official: Andre Marriner
VAR: Chris Kavanagh Assistant VAR: James Mainwaring
Kickoff is set for 8PM GMT/3PM EST tomorrow. Stick with The Liverpool Offside team to keep yourself up to date with team news and match buildup, live updates, and post-match reaction. If you want to join the discussion, sign up for an SB Nation account and have your say on the action as it happens.
