Last updated February 6th, 2016
Leicester City need a positive result to haul themselves off the bottom of the Premier League table when they host Liverpool at the King Power Stadium on Tuesday (19:45 GMT, live on BT Sport).
The Foxes extended their winless league run to eight matches with a 3-2 defeat away to Queen’s Park Rangers on Saturday. They are 20th and last in the Premier League table, with 10 points from two wins, four draws and seven defeats.
Nigel Pearson’s (pictured) side made an excellent start in West London, with Esteban Cambiasso putting them a goal up inside the opening five minutes. Their hosts did, however, have the better of the remainder of the half and went in 2-1 ahead at the interval. Jeffery Schlupp equalised in the 67th minute, only for QPR to score their winning goal six minutes later.
After a promising start to the season, in which they recorded two wins and two draws from their opening five fixtures, Leicester have suffered a string of disappointing results over the last couple of months, losing six and drawing two of the next eight. They have failed to score in eight of their 13 matches and have kept a clean sheet in just two of them.
Leicester v Liverpool Best Match Odds
1/1 Liverpool (BetVictor, Stan James, Betfair Sportsbook)
13/5 Draw (BetVictor, SkyBet, Stan James)
3/1 Leicester (Bet365, Coral, SkyBet, Betfred, Ladbrokes, William Hill, Unibet, Paddy Power)
Leicester were promoted as the Championship winners after finishing a full nine points clear of Burnley in second. The club did some decent business over the summer, bringing in a solid mixture of youth and experience, but have so far been unable to stand the pace in the top flight. Solutions must be found quickly if they are to get their campaign back on track.
Pearson will definitely be without long-term injury absentee Zoumana Bakayogo (anterior cruciate ligament), while Dean Hammond (calf) and Matthew Upson (foot) are both unlikely to take part.
Liverpool snapped a five-match winless run in all competitions with a tightly contested 1-0 victory at home to Stoke City on Saturday. They are 11th in the Premier League table, with 17 points from five wins, two draws and six defeats.
Brendan Rodgers’ men were somewhat fortunate to emerge victorious on Saturday against a well-organised Stoke side. After a dire first period in which neither team managed a shot on target, both created better chances after the break. Liverpool took the three points when Glen Johnson nodded home the rebound from Rickie Lambert’s 85th-minute header.
Johnson’s goal was just the seventh Liverpool have scored in seven home league matches, and their 16th overall in a campaign in which they have struggled to get anywhere near their prolific scoring rate of last season. With Luis Suarez departed and the participation of Daniel Sturridge heavily limited by injuries, they lack real incision in the final third.
When they have managed to find the back of the net, they have invariably also conceded. Saturday’s victory was only the second time this season the Reds have won whilst keeping a clean sheet. Indeed, Wednesday’s 2-2 Champions League draw away to Ludogorets was much more demonstrative of the general quality of their defending so far this season.
Rodgers will be without the injured Sturridge (thigh) and Suso (groin) for the trip to the King Power Stadium, while Jon Flanagan (knee), Mario Balotelli (groin) and Mamadou Sakho (thigh) are all highly doubtful.
Leicester v Liverpool Betting Tips
These two sides last met in the 2003/04 season. Liverpool won 2-1 at Anfield, while the match in Leicester ended in a 0-0 draw. The last five meetings between the sides in Leicester have yielded two wins for Leicester and one for Liverpool. The Reds won 3-2 away to Queen’s Park Rangers in their only fixture against a newly promoted side so far this season.
Leicester are struggling at both ends of the pitch. Aside from Leonardo Ulloa (who has scored just one less goal than all of his teammates combined), no one in their squad has been able to find the back of the net with any regularity. Things are not much better in defence, where they have conceded 21 goals in 13 matches.
Liverpool are hardly firing on all cylinders themselves. None of their new signings have made much of an impact and they, too, have problems in both attack and defence. They have scored more goals on their travels than at Anfield but have also conceded more readily, at an average of two goals per match. They have lost six of nine away matches in all competitions.
Neither side is in good form and this is a difficult match to call. In the circumstances, we believe a draw is the most likely outcome.
- Back the draw @ best odds of 13/5 with SkyBet or BetVictor.
- Six of Leicester’s seven away matches have seen two or less goals, but half of their fixtures at the King Power Stadium have yielded four or more. Five of Liverpool’s six away matches have seen three or more goals. Despite each team’s attacking problems, they are just as bad, if not worse, in defence. Back over 2.5 goals @ biggest odds of 10/11 with William Hill.
Nick Dorrington is a specialist sports writer. He writes for Just Bookies on football & F1 motor racing. He is a renowned columnist, having written for The Independent, ESPN, The Bleacher Report, USA Betting, Stats Bomb & more.