Leicester City v Liverpool: Predicted starting XI as Foxes seek revenge

Leicester City host Liverpool after that disheartening match and wrongful defeat in the cup in a match marred with controversy. Here is an expected XI.

In the EFL Cup, Brendan Rodgers’ Foxes were knocked out after succumbing to defeat at the hands of crazed Liverpool players. With Caglar Soyuncu and Ricardo Pereira injured during the match and at least two potential red card incidents ignored.

The defeat has left a bitter taste in the mouth, and the King Power side will want to return the favour if possible during the next fixture. That being said, if we can throw Hamza Choudhury at the Reds I am sure we could see some ‘creative’ challenges.

Either way, here is the injury news and FoL’s expected starting XI.

Leicester City need a Vardy party

The Northern Irish gaffer will have a severely depleted squad available to him, mildly boosted by the return of players from COVID-19. A full list includes: Pereira, Soyuncu, Jonny Evans, Wesley Fofana, James Justin, Harvey Barnes, Patson Daka, potentially Ryan Bertrand and Danny Ward.

This means Leicester will likely be forced to play a 3-4-1-2 formation with both Jamie Vardy and Kelechi Iheanacho upfront. James Maddison would almost certainly take up the attacking-midfield position, with Youri Tielemans and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall in midfield.

Luke Thomas and Timothy Castagne will hopefully take up the wide positions, with a back three of Daniel Amartey, Jannik Vestergaard, and Wilfred Ndidi. Kasper Schmeichel remains the only realistic option for the Foxes.

This XI could really do with Barnes or Ademola Lookman, though Lookman and Ayoze Perez will likely come on later in the match to change up formation if Rodgers’ side are losing.

I predict a 1-3 loss to Leicester as the referees will no doubt play in favour of the Merseyside team more often than not. Otherwise, a 2-2 draw could happen if Rodgers has resolved some of the set piece issues.