■ Leicester City v Liverpool, Tuesday at midnight UAE time
Under the floodlights at the King Power Stadium last February, Leicester City took a decisive step towards the Premier League title by beating Liverpool 2-0.
Two goals from Jamie Vardy were enough for Claudio Ranieri’s men to maintain their three-point advantage at the summit of the standings, while Liverpool slipped to eighth place after failing to emerge victorious for the fourth time in their last five Premier League outings.
Leicester's decline since securing their first top-flight championship crown in May has been well documented, with last season's title winners now battling for their top-flight status after slipping into the relegation zone on Saturday following Crystal Palace's victory over Middlesbrough, which came just two days after Ranieri was ruthlessly removed from his post.
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Ahead of their clash with Liverpool – which will once again take place under the floodlights at the King Power – it is therefore more interesting to consider the extent to which their upcoming opponents have changed since that defeat just over a year ago.
In many ways, there has been a significant improvement at Anfield as Jurgen Klopp continues to mould the team in his image. Liverpool may have not yet reached the level of the German’s best Borussia Dortmund sides, but their exhilarating displays against Arsenal (a 4-3 win on the opening weekend), Hull City (5-1), Watford (6-1) and Tottenham Hotspur (2-0) have been as impressive as anything produced in the Premier League this season.
Liverpool’s record against the division’s biggest teams is further cause of celebration: as well as beating Arsenal and Tottenham, Klopp’s charges have also triumphed against Manchester City and Chelsea in 2016/17. They remain unbeaten in meetings with their top-six rivals, having hitherto amassed a very credible 16 points from a possible 24.
The league table does not always tell the full story, but in this case it provides clear evidence of Liverpool’s progress. An eighth-place finish last season comes with the caveat that Klopp began to prioritise the Europa League in the final few weeks of the campaign, but it is still telling that his team ended the season six points adrift of the top four.
This time around, Liverpool are much closer to the Uefa Champions League places and will climb up to fourth spot with success against Leicester on Monday. If they maintain their current points-per-game ratio, Klopp’s men will finish with 74 points – eight more than last term, and a tally which would have been enough to qualify for Europe’s primary continental competition in 15 of the past 17 seasons.
Not everything is perfect, though, and an away triumph at the King Power is far from guaranteed despite the champions’ poor recent form. Liverpool have regularly struggled against opponents who sit deep, cede possession and play on the counter-attack, most notably in losses to Burnley, Swansea City and Hull, and Leicester’s customary approach could bring them an unlikely victory.
It is certainly no coincidence that Klopp's men ended a run of six league matches without a win against a team like Tottenham, who play with a high line and look to build possession from the back. Liverpool's gegenpressing style means they are well suited to facing such sides, but there remains a need for greater invention and subtlety in showdowns with some of the Premier League's lesser lights.
That will be Klopp’s principal concern when the transfer window opens in the summer, but for now the 49-year-old German is fully focused on leading Liverpool back into the Champions League.
The club have taken several positive steps since their previous visit to Leicester last February, and Monday’s encounter gives them the perfect opportunity to demonstrate exactly that.
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