Ex-Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers makes his latest return to Anfield as his Leicester City side prepare for Thursday's Premier League battle with the Merseyside giants.
Jurgen Klopp's men secured a spot in the fifth round of the FA Cup by beating Cardiff City 3-1 at the weekend, while the Foxes were humiliated by Nottingham Forest.
Match preview
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Liverpool boss Klopp referenced a few "nice stories" in his side's comfortable victory over Cardiff in the FA Cup, but none more so than Harvey Elliott's return, as the 18-year-old bagged his first Reds goal after nearly five months on the sidelines with a horrific ankle injury.
Diogo Jota and Takumi Minamino had also struck before Elliott's well-taken goal, and Luis Diaz also caught the eye on his debut following the attacker's big-money move from Porto, with the Reds now seeking to end an underwhelming FA Cup period under Klopp.
With champion Sadio Mane and runner-up Mohamed Salah also primed to return from Africa Cup of Nations duty in the not-too-distant future, Liverpool are well-positioned to push Manchester City all the way in the title race, currently sitting nine points adrift of the champions with a game in hand.
It is now four wins on the bounce across all competitions for this Liverpool side - who also have the small matter of an EFL Cup final with Chelsea to look ahead to later this month - and Klopp will welcome his side scoring at least two goals in all four of those wins without Mane and Salah leading the charge.
The 3-1 success over Cardiff also marked a 10th win from 11 at Anfield in all competitions for the Reds - including each of their last five in the Premier League - and conceding just one goal in their last 450 minutes of top-flight football at Anfield does not make for positive reading for a confidence-hit Leicester.
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Knocking out the 2020 and 2021 FA Cup champions ought to be right at the top of Steve Cooper's CV, as the Nottingham Forest boss oversaw one of the most remarkable results for the club in recent memory as Leicester simply collapsed at the City Ground.
Goals from Philip Zinckernagel, Ben Johnson, Joe Worrall and in-demand right-back Djed Spence sunk the defending champions - who struck a consolation through Kelechi Iheanacho - and Rodgers admitted that he was "embarrassed" by the display.
A fan running onto the pitch and subsequently being charged with assault on Forest's celebrating players also contributed to a truly ugly occasion for Leicester, who have no time to dwell on that mauling as they seek to improve their standing in the top flight.
It will be a tall order for Leicester to make a late push for European football as they occupy 10th place in the rankings - 10 points adrift of sixth-placed Arsenal with a game in hand - and Rodgers's side have now alarmingly lost five in a row away from home in all competitions, conceding 18 goals in that stretch.
However, Ademola Lookman was the hero of the hour for Leicester as they managed to sink Liverpool 1-0 at the King Power Stadium back in December, and the Foxes did push Klopp's men all the way in the EFL Cup before ultimately bowing out on penalties after a 3-3 draw.
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Team News
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Diaz may be ready to make his full debut for Liverpool after Klopp played down any concerns of an injury in the Cardiff win, while Salah is also in contention following his return to the training pitches, although Mane remains absent.
Divock Origi is also back in full training after a troublesome knee problem, and the duo of Joe Gomez and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain have completed their isolation periods after testing positive for COVID-19, but Jordan Henderson is nursing a minor back problem.
Elliott is unlikely to be risked from the off just yet given his lengthy layoff, but Thiago Alcantara and Fabinho will both be eyeing returns to the engine room for the visit of Leicester.
The Foxes, meanwhile, have their own AFCON champion in Nampalys Mendy - who was also named in the Best XI - and the midfielder will likely take some time to recuperate before returning to first-team action.
Jonny Evans, Timothy Castagne, Jamie Vardy, Ryan Bertrand and Wesley Fofana all remain out of contention through injury, but the latter is due to rejoin team training next week as he steps up his recovery from a broken leg.
Rodgers warned his players to look in the mirror after their FA Cup loss to Nottingham Forest, and the visiting coach will certainly consider recalls for Boubakary Soumare, Patson Daka and Marc Albrighton this week.
Liverpool possible starting lineup:
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson, Fabinho, Thiago; Jota, Firmino, Diaz
Leicester City possible starting lineup:
Schmeichel; Pereira, Vestergaard, Soyuncu, Thomas; Ndidi, Tielemans; Albrighton, Maddison, Daka; Iheanacho
We say: Liverpool 3-1 Leicester City
For all of their defensive issues, Leicester have had no such trouble making the net ripple amid their disappointing streak, and Liverpool know all too well how tight they will need to be at the back to preserve their clean sheet.
The odd consolation goal will likely be the only joy that Leicester experience at Anfield, as Klopp's side prepare to carve their confidence-sapped visitors open and march to a resounding victory.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Liverpool win with a probability of 81.39%. A draw had a probability of 11.6% and a win for Leicester City had a probability of 7.02%.
The most likely scoreline for a Liverpool win was 3-0 with a probability of 9.61%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (9.35%) and 3-1 (8.14%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (5.13%), while for a Leicester City win it was 1-2 (2.17%). The actual scoreline of 2-0 was predicted with a 9.3% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Liverpool would win this match.
