Leicester City travel to Anfield to face Liverpool this weekend, with the two teams having an identical record after the first three game weeks. Jürgen Klopp’s team has been totally unpredictable so far, being breathtaking one week and totally dull in the other. It seems that they are still lacking the composure needed to dictate games relying heavily on the individuals to provide the spark rather than making a collective effort.
The Foxes should be very wary of a perfectly functioning Liverpool side which can leave their opponents in their wake but also know that they can make them suffer if the Ranieri can make his team execute their game plan. Let’s look at how the Champions can hurt the Hosts on Saturday.
Set Pieces
Liverpool is very unconvincing when it comes to defending from the set pieces. Leicester City will have their record signing Islam Slimani available for the game who is excellent in the air. He will pose a real threat to the defenders in those situations. If Mahrez can put in some good deliveries into the penalty box then Leicester would have a great chance of scoring goals, which they would need to do potentially more than once if they want to take three points back home.
Nullify Coutinho
So far it has been very evident that the Merseyside club banks heavily on the creativity and inspiration provided by Coutinho from the midfield during the games. Liverpool looks to be out of ideas when the Brazilian has an off day and that’s exactly what Ranieri and his team would be looking to accomplish.
Denying him the space to cut inwards into the middle and unleash his swerving long shots on goal is something Nampalys Mendy would look to block off completely and with a deep back line it would be very tough for Liverpool’s number 10 to influence proceedings.
Pace on the Counter
Last season, Jamie Vardy’s quick runs on the transitions was an integral part of Ranieri’s tactics which proved to be devastatingly efficient. This season the Italian manager has even more pace in his ranks with the addition of Ahmed Musa, who seems to be more intelligent than Jamie Vardy with his decisions on the ball.
The direct running from the wide areas are difficult to tackle for any defence let alone Liverpool and in order to counter the press employed by Klopp’s men on Saturday Pace would be absolutely vital for Leicester. The Foxes have that in plenty and also some good long passers in Mahrez, Drinkwater and Mendy all of whom can release the front men in the blink of an eye before the opposition can get back to their positions.
