Match preview ahead of Liverpool v Leicester in the quarter final of the League Cup at Anfield, where changes are afoot…
A LEAGUE Cup quarter final looms tonight at Anfield.
But what does it mean to us?
Ex-Reds manager Brendan Rodgers brings his Leicester City side up the M6 to Anfield tonight, as Liverpool look to secure their place in the Carabao Cup semi final for the first time since 2017 – then known as the ‘something or other’ cup, where Southampton progressed to Wembley but were defeated by Manchester United.
Liverpool come into tonight following a frustrating 2-2 draw away at Tottenham at the weekend, a game clouded by VAR/Refereeing inconsistency, which has led to Paul Tierney becoming a ‘person of interest’ on Merseyside. On the other hand, The Foxes play their first game tonight in 10 days, as COVID-19 outbreaks meant matches against Everton and Spurs couldn’t go ahead.
The Reds, albeit with this advantage, are still without Virgil van Dijk, Fabinho, Curtis Jones, Jordan Henderson, Thiago Alcantara and, more recently, Divock Origi and the now suspended Andy Robertson. This could mean Klopp will have no option but to start players he would much rather have rested tonight before our game against Leeds on Boxing Day.
“We’ll try to make it a cup night for the fans, full of desire with all we have and for that we need fresh legs as well.” remarked Pep Lijnders yesterday. “We will prepare for a strong Leicester team. At the beginning of the season we say to the players that we want to make memories together, we want to create special games together and with the fans together, and that’s what we are going to do tomorrow.”
It may only be the League Cup, but we should always aim for a trip to good old Anfield South. The Premier League and Champions League are our utmost priorities without question but, as long as no more members of the squad catch the lurgy, we should stand a very high chance of making it through the next two rounds.
Given how Liverpool have improved so immensely over these past five years, it’s seen as the done thing for us and the manager to look down on the once-labelled ‘Mickey Mouse Cup’.
You could still argue it is really, but it’s another reason for pride and a chance for others who have played their own small parts in this journey to impress.
Predicted 11: Kelleher; Williams, Tsimikas, Konate, Gomez; Morton, Milner, Oxlade-Chamberlain; Jota, Minamino, Mane
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“I think Klopp will go a little bit stronger than people might anticipate. We could probably do with getting some time on the pitch for Firmino and Gomez.”
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