Liverpool vs Leicester
carl1984 > 10/09/2016, 10:39
Liverpool have had a bit of a roller coaster start to this season. They conducted their customary raid of Southampton in the summer when they signed Sadio Mane, with fellow attacker Georginio Wijnaldum also coming in to bolster Jurgen Klopp’s attacking options.
This paid dividends when they opened the season with a 4-3 thriller of a victory at the Emirates against Arsenal. They were actually 4-1 up at one point until a late surge from the hosts, but a win’s a win and they got three points to kick-start the campaign.
Liverpool followed this up with a polar opposite performance. They had 80% of the ball against the newly promoted Burnley but couldn’t find the net at all, with two incisive counter attacking moves giving Burnley an absurd 2-0 victory. This was followed by a 1-1 draw with Spurs before the international break, after they had battered Burton Albion 5-0 in the League Cup.
Leicester, who triumphantly won the Premier League title against all odds last season, haven’t started their title defence in the best of ways. They were brought back down to earth in the pre-season when they played against PSG and Barcelona in the International Champions Cup, losing 4-0 and 4-2 respectively. They followed this with a deserved 2-1 defeat to Manchester United in the Community Shield.
They could certainly be forgiven for these defeats, but a visit to the newly promoted and injury laden Hull in the Premier League opener promised better things. It didn’t happen for them though as they lost 2-1 before a drab goalless draw against Arsenal. They finally got a win on the board before the international break with a 2-1 win over Swansea, but they’ve struggled a bit so far.
This sparked them into even more transfer market action on deadline day as they secured Islam Slimani for a club record £29.7 million. This adds to the wealth of attacking options they have available, and if they all start firing, Leicester could return to their best.
Getting their first win was crucial for Leicester and will have boosted their confidence after a poor start to the campaign. Liverpool have looked impressive at times so far this term, but their performance against Burnley can’t be ignored. I fancy Leicester to take something from this game, so I’m backing a Leicester Win or Draw Double Chance at 13/10 along with a 2-2 correct score prediction.