Liverpool will roar back into Premier League action this evening when Brendan Rodgers' Leicester City visit Anfield in a match that the Reds dare not lose.
Jurgen Klopp's side currently lie 12 points behind runaway leaders Manchester City, but crucially have two games in hand that could half that deficit.
But the Foxes were the last team in inflict defeat on Klopp's side back in December and with their own form indifferent, the away side will be looking to score a league double over their opponents with a victory at Anfield.
We caught up with Leicestershire Live Leicester City reporter Jordan Blackwell to get his take on the big match and how their season is going.
The Foxes were somewhat surprisingly dumped out of the FA Cup at the weekend by Nottingham Forest. Has an upset like that been on the cards?
No. Although Leicester have been some way short of their best this season, there has not been a performance that bad. Not only did they completely crumble when Forest scored the first, they failed to show any desire to get back into the game in the second half, which is a rarity under Rodgers and was perhaps the biggest concern of all.
Leicester have been knocking on the door of the Champions League for the past two seasons, but this term find themselves currently in tenth. What has gone wrong?
The significance of the injury to Wesley Fofana in the final pre-season fixture cannot be understated. Even at just 21 years of age, he is one of the best defenders in the division. And if there is any opposition club that can understand that, it is probably Liverpool, given the impact Virgil van Dijk’s absence had on their form.
Jonny Evans has also missed a fair portion of the season, which is significance in a few senses. He is an excellent centre-back with an impeccable reading of the game, but he is also the organiser of the back-line, and Caglar Soyuncu has struggled without his leadership.
A variety of injuries to full-backs as well means that of the 32 games Leicester have played in all competitions, their most-used back-line have played four times together, and now two members of that back four are injured anyway.
That lack of stability has led to a lack of composure at the back, and particularly early in the season, a lack of confidence in the midfield and forward players to take risks, knowing how vulnerable the back-line were to counters.
But it’s not just been bad fortune. Their inability to defend set-pieces has been a huge problem, and one they don’t seem to be able to fix.
Regardless of how things have been going, Brendan Rodgers' side inflicted defeat on Liverpool back in December - only the second team to beat the Reds this season - do you think Leicester are capable of repeating that feat at Anfield?
They would need the luck they had at the King Power Stadium in terms of Liverpool’s missed chances. They probably had enough opportunities to score, although I felt Leicester defended really well once they got in front.
It will also require them to not lose their heads should they suffer a setback, which has been a theme of recent outings.
I think they will go for the midfield diamond they played in both the King Power game and in the Carabao Cup tie, and I think if they have enough energy within that, they can cause Liverpool problems.
Who has been Leicester's best performer this season and why?
Even considering his awful first couple of months, it’s James Maddison. Since dropping out of the team in September, reminding himself of what he did so well at his peak by watching old clips, and then returning in October, he has been excellent.
He has been able to have an impact in nearly every game he has played, registering a combined 14 goals and assists in his last 13 games, showing an eye for goal, whether from long range or by making runs into the box, while also linking up really well with the strikers, whether it’s Jamie Vardy, Kelechi Iheanacho or Patson Daka playing in front of him.
The League Cup quarter-final at Anfield was an action-packed affair with plenty of goals, would you take a game like that on Thursday night or rather a scrappy 1-0 away win?
Generally, there’s been little choice in Leicester’s games this season. They are so porous at the back and so potent in attack, that there have been plenty of thrillers. Eleven of their 32 games have ended with both teams scoring at least two goals. The game at the King Power was an outlier.
Given the defence’s issues, it would represent a much more satisfying achievement for Leicester if they won 1-0 while limiting Liverpool to few chances.
What are your own thoughts on this current Liverpool squad and what do you think they can achieve this season?
In attack, with the addition of Luis Diaz, they have two very good players for every position, including the best forward in the league in Mo Salah. A lot can be achieved with those attackers at a club’s disposal.
And if the regular starters are fit in midfield and defence, they are at the very least on par with Man City’s best XI.
I’d say Man City are too far ahead for Liverpool to win the Premier League, but they genuinely could do a cup treble as they did in 2001.
If you could drop one Liverpool player into the Leicester side who would it be?
If it’s the Leicester team with its current injury situation, then it has to be Van Dijk. He’d bring strength, a calm, intelligent head, leadership, and organisation to a defence that is desperately missing with Fofana and Evans out.
If Leicester had a fully-fit team, then Salah. Since Mahrez, that spot on the right wing has needed filling by some star quality. It’s safe to say Salah has it.
Are there any up-and-coming young players at Leicester that clubs like Liverpool should be keeping a close eye on?
Will Alves, who made his senior debut as a 16-year-old last month, can currently be seen dancing around defences at Under-18 and Under-23 level. His close control and dribbling ability are astonishing, while he can’t be bullied off the ball easily either.
He needs to develop a little, and become more selfless too, before he can be in the first team, but with the right head on his shoulders, the sky is the limit for him.
He is part of a very exciting Under-18s group at the minute that has reached the quarter-finals of FA Youth Cup and has a few England youth internationals in the side.
A game at Anfield under the lights normally makes for a cracking atmosphere. How does Anfield compare to the other grounds you have visited this season?
Unfortunately, from a Leicester point of view, I got to experience Anfield at its best when Takumi Minamimo scored in injury time. However, late rewrites mean you probably don’t get to appreciate it as much.
In terms of noise across the 90 minutes, Anfield does not quite stack up to Legia Warsaw’s Stadion Wojska Polskiego though.
Finally, what is your final score prediction for this one?
I can’t imagine this is a common prediction, but I will say 4-2 to Liverpool.
