EFL Cup: Foxes Sniff A Chance Against Busy Liverpool

Liverpool vs Leicester City

Former Liverpool head coach Brendan Rodgers is back on his old stomping ground on Wednesday when Leicester City head to Anfield for a quarter final EFL Cup clash.

The Reds come into the game on the back of an electrifying 2-2 draw with Spurs in arguably the best league game of the season so far, meanwhile the Foxes have been out of action for over a week after their matches against Spurs and Everton were called off. Jurgen Klopp’s side has been in scintillating form but now might be a good time for Leicester to play them.

Talking Points

Klopp must decide how hard to go

The EFL Cup 2021 betting odds pitch Jurgen Klopp’s side as second favourites at SBOTOP odds of 4.00, behind Chelsea who are priced at 3.50. But the Reds are fighting on four fronts; they are in the last 16 of the Champions League, desperately trying to stay in touch with Manchester City in the Premier League and the FA Cup is due to get underway in the New Year. Surely the Premier League and the Champions League are the boss’s priorities and he has played young sides in the Carabao Cup so far. With games scheduled against Leeds United on Boxing and Leicester again on the 28^th this could be a crunch time in the league and Klopp has voiced his concerns.

Big name players Virgil Van Dijk, Fabinho and Thiago Alcantara are among those sidelined with Covid and Klopp says that to play three big games in seven days is nigh on impossible for his squad to cope with. Fans of smaller clubs may well laugh at that, but Liverpool are operating at the business end in every competition they play in and so Klopp must use his squad carefully. Of course the Foxes also have to play three games over this period, assuming they don’t fall foul of the virus, including a Boxing Day meeting with Manchester City, but their hopes of a top-four place are already looking slim and they will fancy a dart at winning another cup, having triumphed in the FA Cup last season.

In Liverpool’s last EFL Cup game a youthful side saw off Championship Club Preston North End with a 2-0 win as Takumi Minamino and Divock Origi both scored their second goals of the campaign. But they struggled for long periods and a similar line-up would likely be well beaten by Leicester.

EFL Cup: Divock Origi scored in Liverpool's Champions League win against AC Milan — Divock Origi during Liverpool’s match against Porto

So Klopp would be happy with a lighter schedule; but hopefully we’ll have some EFL 2021 highlights to share on Wednesday night.

Foxes are rested and ready

Just as Spurs had the advantage of a couple of weeks off before they gave Liverpool a torrid time at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday, so too Leicester have had a break since the 12^th December, and that can only help their preparations for this game. In their last outing they whacked Newcastle United 4-0, even though they were severely depleted by injury and illness. The Foxes are at a price of 7.50 to add the Carabao Cup to their 2021 FA Cup triumph and if they can edge past Liverpool then they will be worth a closer look. They beat Brighton on penalties to reach the quarter-final after Harvey Barnes and Ademola Lookman had earned them a 2-2 draw.

History

Liverpool and Leicester have had plenty of tasty tussles over the past 27 seasons, with the Reds winning 17 of the meetings to Leicester’s nine, and there have been six draws.

Leicester won the last meeting by a 3-1 scoreline, in February at the King Power Stadium, as James Maddison, Jamie Vardy and Barnes all scored late goals after Mo Salah had given the Reds a led midway through the second half.

The Reds haven’t lost at home to Leicester in the last ten encounters at Anfield and they have won six matches at home in a row.

Betting Tip

	Liverpool vs Leicester City	Leicester City Asian Handicap +0.75 @ 2.04
	December 23, 03:45 (GMT+8)

At 1.60 to win the Reds are in pole position but, as Spurs showed on Sunday, they can be caught out and Foxes fans might be attracted by their club’s prices of 5.22 or 3.44 to be level at 90 minutes. The Double Chance Leicester or Draw is at 2.13 and this is a difficult game to call with such uncertainty around player availability; but I think the Foxes have every chance of a successful night.