EPL: Liverpool vs. Leicester City Preview, Odds, Prediction

Leicester goes to Anfield to meet with Liverpool, as the two sides want to close 2022 with success. Liverpool won in Birmingham four days ago, beating Aston Villa, and in the meantime, finishing the job with PSV regarding Cody Gakpo. On the other side, Leicester suffered a hard knockout against Newcastle at the Kings Power. The Foxes were hit hard early on, and there was no way for them to recover. Usually, when these two sides clash, we get to see an exciting matchup. Hopefully, that will be the case on Friday.

Preview

Liverpool (-330) took three points in Birmingham against Aston Villa, 1-3, finally displaying a performance worthy of their status. Though Darwin Nunez once again failed to show up, giving more ammo to his critics with yet another terrible performance.

It appears that the Uruguayan striker didn’t adjust to Liverpool’s style of play and life in England, otherwise he would know to score goals from 15 feet, so Jurgen Klopp had to react. The German signed the Dutch prodigy, Cody Gakpo, who exploded at the World Cup, and we might even see him in this game.

Counting in the friendly games during the World Cup pause, eight of the past ten games Liverpool played were with over 2.5 goals. The previous five ended with hits on both ends and over 3.5 scores.

Leicester (+800) restarted the Premiership campaign with a 0-3 loss to Newcastle. We saw the Magpies netting two early goals, and that’s why Leicester couldn’t do anything more in Monday’s event. The pause came at the worst possible moment for Brendan Rodgers’ crew, who had five wins in six games prior to the break.

The best part of the team during this stretch was the defense, with the Foxes posting five consecutive clean sheets, and eight in the recent nine contests. After a terrible start when numerous jinxes happened, crippling the defense, Rodgers managed to tighten up the situation in the back line. Overall most recent ten of their events were with just one side netting.

Regarding the efficiency of the games, five of the most recent competitive matchups Leicester participated in were with a moderate efficiency, that is 2 or 3 hits.

Latest News

Roberto Firmini is injured lightly, and we won’t get to see him on Friday, the same as James Milner, Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz and Arthur.

On the other hand, James Maddison, the heart and soul of the Foxes team, will be sidelined, Dennis Praet, Jonny Evans, Ricardo Pereira, Ryan Bertrand, and Ricardo Pereira, as well.

Head to Head Games

Both teams used the home-field advantage last season, with the Foxes winning 1-0 and the Reds 2-0. Liverpool has four wins at Anfield in a row over this rival.

Prediction

What we need to say here is that Liverpool looked differently against Aston Villa than in most of the season so far. Once they eliminate Nunez’s misses and his appealing performances (that is when they start having all 11 players on the field) the former champs will be even better. Gakpo’s arrival should be a big plus for the hosts, and overall, we expect them to win this game, with or without the young Dutchman.

Pick: Liverpool wins -330