Liverpool v Leicester: Premier League – live | Premier League

On December 27, 2024By Littum

Key events

Andy Hunter listened to what Arne Slot had to say ahead of this match. And this is what he heard:

Arne Slot has said that his experience of facing Ruud van Nistelrooy in Holland, plus Liverpool’s short shrift against Tottenham, will ensure Leicester will not be underestimated at Anfield on Boxing Day.

The Liverpool boss was unable to beat Van Nistelrooy’s PSV as he guided Feyenoord to the 2022-23 Eredivisie title, drawing 2-2 at home and losing 4-3 away. PSV were one of only two teams to defeat Feyenoord in a season in which Slott’s side won the league by seven points from their nearest challengers from Eindhoven.

Much more here:

It has been a bit foggy on Merseyside today, but visibility is just good enough for the game to go ahead.

Looking across the pitch at Anfield ahead of the Premier League match between Liverpool and Leicester City. Photo: Plumb Images/Leicester City FC/Getty Images

The same was not the case when Tranmere had to play Accrington Stanley a little earlier:

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Do They Know It’s Christmas, Part II. Ruud van Nistelrooy agrees with Slot: “As a manager you are busy with work and sometimes you forget that it is Christmas,” he sniffs.

Meanwhile, asked about the decision to drop Jakub Stolarczyk into the team after Danny Ward was booed by his own fans during the defeat to Wolves, he says: “It’s not ideal but the circumstances with Wardy were intense, we all felt it .and it puts you in a position where you have to make decisions.”

Do they know it’s Christmas? Not if they are football managers, they don’t. “You don’t know it’s Christmas as a manager,” says Arne Slot. “If you told me it was October, I’d probably believe you.”

Also from Slot, this warning: “We are playing really well at the moment but City, two months ago they were playing so well and look where they are now.”

The teams!

Today’s lineups. Darwin Nunez leads the line for Liverpool, while Curtis Jones replaces Szoboszlai. No Jamie Vardy for Leicester and Jakub Stolarczyk starts in goal:

Liverpool: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson, Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Salah, Jones, Gakpo, Nunez. Subs: Kelleher, Endo, Diaz, Szoboszlai, Chiesa, Elliott, Jota, Tsimikas, Quansah.
Leicester: Stolarczyk, Justin, Coady, Vestergaard, Kristiansen, Winks, Soumare, Ayew, El Khannous, Mavididi, Daka. Subs: Iversen, Okoli, De Cordova-Reid, Choudhury, Skipp, Edouard, Thomas, Alves, Buonanotte.
Judge: Darren Bond.

Hello world!

It has been a really good Christmas day for Liverpool so far: Chelsea lost at home, Manchester City didn’t win (and neither did Everton) and Arsenal play tomorrow, all of which leave them seven points ahead of Chelsea (with a game in hand), eight clear of Nottingham Forest (ditto) and nine off Arsenal (sans one) if they manage to do against Leicester, what they did the last time the Foxes played at Anfield, and the time before that, and the time before that, and indeed what they’ve done at eight of the last 10 times they have appeared up, and beat them (they drew the other two).

Disappointingly (for the visitors), Leicester’s only away win this season came at Southampton in October. They have lost seven and won one in 10 games in all competitions since then, and their form in the last eight league games has been so poor that they have not even got more points than Manchester City (both have five and are on the least points , tied for 18th in a table in the last eight games, and speaking of 18, that’s how many points Liverpool have, making it another table they’re at the top of).

Somewhat surprisingly, Liverpool only have a 55% top-by-Christmas-to-league title conversion rate (before the advent of the Premier League they were merrily rolling with a 71.4% conversion rate, but that has dropped to 16.7%, aka .one from six since 1992). It’s actually a slight overachievement: the all-time top-flight top-at-Christmas-to-league-title conversion rate is 44% and the all-time Premier League figure is exactly 50%.

We’re almost exactly five months away from finding out how this season will end, with the final day slated for May 25. Could tonight see another giant leap in a glorious direction for Arne Slott’s high flyers? We will soon find out!