Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp is expecting a reaction from Leicester City after Brendan Rodgers claimed his side must start well ahead of their trip to Anfield on Friday night.
The Reds will be looking to secure their fourth successive Premier League victory when they take on the Foxes after the 3-1 win over Aston Villa on Boxing Day. Goals from Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Djik and Stefan Bajcetic earned Liverpool a comfortable victory on the road to put them just five points behind fourth-place Tottenham.
However, Liverpool will be as keen as ever to further close the gap on Spurs when they take on Leicester - a side that were battered by Newcastle United on Monday. The Foxes crumbled to a 3-0 defeat at King Power Stadium courtesy of goals from Chris Wood, Miguel Almiron and Joelinton.
Klopp, meanwhile, is still expecting a firm test from the Foxes, who had been in excellent form before the World Cup break, winning five of their six matches heading into the international period. Liverpool won the most recent fixture between the two sides at Anfield in February, with Diogo Jota netting both for the Reds.
He said in a press conference: "They have a lot of fantastic football players so we have to be ready. Everything is really fresh again - we are really excited - we are full of desire to go again and again and again."
"I expect a reaction (from Leicester after losing to Newcastle) and a tough game," Klopp added. "They could change their system which makes it more difficult. But we have to push through what we want to do - it's been a long time since we played at home."
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This comes after Rodgers slammed his Leicester players following the defeat against Newcastle and claimed he knows better than anyone what it will take to get a result against Liverpool, have managed at Anfield.
The Foxes conceded twice within the first seven minutes against the Toon which inevitably took the game away from them.
Rodgers said on Wednesday: "I think the first 20 minutes of a game at Anfield are always very important," he told a pre-match press conference. "With the crowd and intensity of which a Liverpool team will want to play, that's important, that resilience and mentality.
"You need that ability if you do go behind to have that belief. I think in any game of football there are two games – the game itself and before that the game of belief. You always believe when you step onto the field, especially against some of the big teams away from home, you need to have that belief and mentality that you can get a result. For us, we've got a great opportunity to go to a great stadium to play football in and look to see if we can replicate that belief and spirit last time we played.
"It's always a difficult game and nobody knows that more than myself at Anfield – but it's a great challenge for us. (Newcastle) was disappointing, like I say, but challenges are there to be overcome and there's a great opportunity for us to get out there in a fantastic game."
