Leicester City v Liverpool: Pre-Match Talking Points

LFC Tampa Bay
Aug 31, 2018 · 6 min read

By Jordan Carreno

Matchday 4 sees the Reds head down to the King Power Stadium to take on Leicester City for a 7:30 am Saturday morning kick off.

Leicester City v Liverpool — 9/01/2018 12:30 GMT

This is an early one for us in the Bay Area, but all three LFC Tampa Bay locations will be open for the match. So roll out of bed, down that coffee, and join us for another three points to get your weekend started. In case your brain is slow to get moving that early, let me provide you 3 talking points heading into the match to get you through those early minutes.

Shifting Gears

Whilst the Reds sit first in the table, they’ve spent much of the beginning of the Premier League campaign in third gear. Three points are always more important than any style points the side may collect, but the fan base will quietly be yearning for a truly complete performance. Eventually, with the talent at our disposal, this team will hit top stride and become a vicious force sacking towns up and down the Queen’s island.

As much as we’ve all enjoyed the stout, resolute defensive efforts of the last two matches, an appetite for vintage, full force Klopp football will be growing. There’s only so many late 1–0 leads our hearts can handle.

As great as it is to see the Reds exhibiting that ability to see off games late, a proper beat down must surely soon be on the cards. Even the West Ham game, where Liverpool won 4–0, wasn’t anything like Klopp’s side at the top of their game. The overwhelming consensus is that this side has a few more levels it can reach.

Of course, some of this can be chalked up to the season being so young. With a World Cup this summer, pre-seasons have been slightly truncated and some players have taken longer to get back with their squads. However, Liverpool were one of the least affected with plenty of first teamers and new signings getting knocked out early or missing the tournament altogether. The sooner the Reds hit top form, the more they can take advantage of this situation and turn up the heat on their closest rivals. So the question becomes: When will Klopp’s boys find top form?

Travelling to Leicester has been a nightmare for Liverpool in recent years, so this week may be a bit too soon to expect “5th gear” Liverpool. But, given Klopp’s revengeful tendencies, it may also be the perfect platform to lay down a marker before the international break.

It will also continue in the vein of rewriting narratives associated with the team. As always, three points is three points, but three points with a bit of flair this week would do a lot in building this sides aura and reputation.

No Vardy, No Party?

Vardy has been Liverpool’s boogey man — His suspension will undoubtedly hand the Reds a Boost

As I just said, Leicester City away has been a bit of a nightmare fixture for the Reds in recent years. A lot of that comes down to Vardy’s ability to seemingly score against us at will. It’s become one of those inexplicable givens in football; if Liverpool are playing Leicester, Jamie Vardy is going to get on the score sheet.

That’s why, two weeks ago, when Jamie Vardy got himself sent off against Wolves with a straight red, I had a small moment of celebration. It meant the Foxes’ talisman would be suspended for Liverpool’s upcoming trip down to Leicester. When it is always the fine margins that seem to decide where teams end up at the end of a season, any advantage handed to Liverpool needs to be seized upon.

Whilst it is true that most of Leicester’s success comes down to its organized system and their execution of the counter attack, it is undoubtedly helped along by having talented individuals like Vardy in the side. With Mahrez now gone and Vardy suspended, it will give Liverpool less to worry about at the back, meaning they can focus more on breaking down Leicester’s back line.

Given that this is likely to be another game where Liverpool must do their all to break down a bus, and with a decent keeper in Schmeichel in the net, not having an added stressor creeping around the halfway line will do a lot to help the Reds focus on doing just that.

Put your Shaqiri in, keep your Shaqiri out

When will we see the likes of Sturridge and Shaqiri feature in the squad? After a lackluster performance against Brighton, a chance for rotation exists

Squad depth has been an issue for Liverpool for quite some time. Being able to rotate in quality options or even have game changing subs on the bench has been a pipedream for the Reds for a while. Following this summer’s business though, Klopp finally has a plethora of options in multiple positions across the pitch. The question becomes when will Klopp start to feature some of these options.

The starting line-ups in the first three matches have been the exact same. The performances in the West Ham and Palace games warranted all the players involved keeping their spots. However, given that Klopp and the players themselves mentioned that they didn’t perform to their own high standards against Brighton, an opportunity might have presented itself for changes.

Henderson, the club’s captain, has yet to feature in the starting 11 but has put in solid substitute appearances to see out games. Shaqiri lit up the preseason with his performances and has himself only collected a handful of minutes this season so far. Adam Lallana, Klopp’s first teacher’s pet, has yet to reintroduce himself into the squad since his injury nightmare of last season. And then there is Daniel Sturridge, the striker we all thought had seen his last days in Red yet showed us in mere seconds that he still had the golden touch.

All of these players are quality options and will undoubtedly play a bigger part as the season matures. It may well be too soon for changes on the eve of an international break and with a 100% record still in tact. However, if Klopp does fancy a change he has plenty of tools at his disposal.

If there are no changes to the line-up against Leiceister, it won’t be due to a lack of options.

Prediction

So we’ve got a system for this now. One point for guessing Liverpool’s score, One for guessing the opponent’s score, one for getting the final result correct, and an extra 2 bonus points for getting all three. Given David only started hurling predictions around last week, that’s where we’re beginning our prediction season. As things stand, it’s all tied on 2 points as we both correctly guessed Liverpool would win with a clean sheet last week. We’re neck and neck and things are heating up; the tension is more than palpable as we battle to reign supreme as football connoisseur numero uno.

I’m going to fight temptation to fly straight in and declare that we erase the Leicester voodoo by playing them off the park in a masterpiece. I’m a masterclass junky; I crave it. So instead, I’ll try using my brain over my heart for once.

It will be a tough game and it may take a while for the Reds to finally get a break through. Not having Vardy running in behind the lines trying to get on the end of every long ball like a rabid pitbull will help the Reds focus more attention towards their attack.

Expect a few ridiculous saves keeping the Foxes in the game, because keepers just have good games against us. In the end Bobby opens his account and one of Virgil or Gomez get their massive heads on the end of a set piece. We also finally keep a clean sheet at the King Power. 2–0!

David’s Prediction: I’m tempted to say it’s a butt clincher given we’ve lost 3 of the last 5 there, the fact that we’ve never opened a season with 4 consecutive victories in the Premier League era, and that they’ve been a pain in our asses. But, unlike Jordan, I’m going heart over brain here.

I say we give up our first goal of the season as Leicester gets on the board in the first half on a set piece header from Harry “Slabhead” McGuire. An unhappy Klopp goes heavy metal hotel suite on the changing room, makes a change to midfield and sparks the best 45 minutes we’ve seen thus far. The Reds walk out 3–1 winners, desperate for the international break to be over so they can start planning their trip to the capital.

LFC Tampa Bay

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We are a group of Liverpool supporters based in the Tampa Bay region of Florida. The opinions expressed here are the author's, not LFC Tampa Bay's.

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