Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool go into Tuesday night’s Carabao Cup tie against Leicester City needing a win to boost their spirits, as much as to get to the next round of the competition.
Following a 5-0 defeat at the hands of Manchester City, the Reds have managed only two draws in their last two games; one coming in the Champions League against Sevilla, and the other in last weekend’s league match against Sean Dyche’s Burnley.
Leicester City are in a similar predicament — they also have two wins from their last five games, and have also failed to win any of their last three. Quite simply, this midweek cup tie is big one.
Of course, the League Cup isn’t the highest of priority for Liverpool so some players are likely to be rested, but there will certainly be plenty of talent on display at the King Power Stadium, with Coutinho set to start the game.
We’ve picked out some potential key battles from the tie — areas where a players’ performance could come between a win and a loss…
Joe Gomez vs Kelechi Iheanacho
The pace of Leicester City’s Nigerian striker will certainly be something the Reds have looked at in the build up to this one, and if he starts alongside Islam Slimani up front he is likely to play right on the shoulder of the last man and wait for balls in behind from his strike partner, whose hold up play is excellent. Gomez in particular will have to keep a close eye on the former Manchester City man; his pace will help in one-on-one situations for sure.
Marko Grujic vs Wilfred Ndidi
Grujic is a real diamond in the rough and will have a great chance to show what he can do on Tuesday night — but will have to escape the attentions of the busy Wilfred Ndidi, who is fast and strong as well as having the stamina to play the box-to-box role very effectively. The battle between this pair will certainly be one to keep an eye on as they are both athletic players and should come together frequently on Tuesday night.
Philipe Coutinho vs Danny Simpson
You won’t need reminding how good Coutinho is with the ball at his feet and up against Danny Simpson things could go one of two ways; Simpson is a terrier-like full-back so could get drawn into an early yellow card up against Coutinho’s trickery, but if he has a good game he is certainly capable of snuffing out danger around the box, so this is arguably the most important battle of the game, as Coutinho’s influence could certainly determine the victory.
Harry Maguire vs Dominic Solanke
Maguire is a very sturdy centre-back with great aerial strength and good timing when it comes to blocks and tackles, but he’s not the quickest player in the world so a rainy surface or fast, one/two-touch passes could be the undoing of him, and Dom Solanke is certainly capable of piling the pressure on and playing at speed with the likes of Coutinho and Grujic to feed him the ball.
With both bosses looking for wins to boost morale as well as advancing to the next round, this game is sure to be a cracker!
