Floundering champions Liverpool travel to the King Power Stadium on Saturday to face Leicester City in a clash that now looks a battle of the top four chasers.
Jurgen Klopp's Reds have all-but fallen out of title contention in the Premier League, sitting fourth and ten points behind Manchester City following their thumping defeat at the hands of Pep Guardiola's men last time out.
Meanwhile, Brendan Rodgers Foxes turn their attentions back to the league after progressing to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup in midweek, and will be aiming to secure just their second win in their last five Premier League matches.
Team News
The Foxes' progression in the FA Cup on Wednesday came at a cost with James Justin having been withdrawn through injury. Having landed awkwardly, he eventually had to be stretchered off the pitch. Rodgers has confirmed that the defender tore his anterior cruciate ligament so is likely to be out for a considerable amount of time in what is a gutting blow to both the player and club.
Defenders Wesley Fofana, Timothy Castagne and Wes Morgan all remain ruled out, whilst long-term absentee Dennis Praet is still recovering from a thigh injury. However, Ayoze Perez is fine following his heavy collision with Brighton stopper Christian Walton.
Klopp can sympathise with the Foxes' recent injury woes, with the Anfield outfit having suffered from a host of problems throughout 2020/21. Centre-backs Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip all remain out and have been joined by deputy Fabinho who will be missing with a muscular injury. This could potentially pave the way for Ozan Kabak's Liverpool debut.
Elsewhere, the game is going to come slightly too soon for the likes of Naby Keita and Diogo Jota.
Predicted Line-Ups
Leicester City: Schmeichel; Thomas, Soyuncu, Evans, Pereira; Ndidi, Tielemans, Maddison; Barnes, Albrighton, Vardy.
Liverpool: Alisson; Robertson, Kabak, Henderson, Alexander-Arnold; Thiago, Wijnaldum, Jones; Salah, Firmino, Mane.
Last Meeting
As has been the case on a number of occasions, it was sobering afternoon the last time the Foxes met Liverpool. Travelling to Anfield back in November, Rodgers' men found themselves behind midway through the first-half as Jonny Evans thundered a header past Kasper Schmeichel and into his own net.
The hosts then doubled their advantage as the in-form Diogo Jota scored with a deft header just before half-time.
Liverpool could have added to the scoreline on numerous occasions, with the woodwork being struck three times, before Roberto Firmino rubber-stamped the victory by nodding in from a corner.
Ones to Watch
If Maddison continues his current form for Leicester, it will become increasingly difficult for Gareth Southgate to count him out of England contention.
Since the turn of the year, the 24-year-old has contributed to eight goals in nine appearances in all competitions (four goals, four assists). 2020/21 is already the youngster's most productive season in a Leicester shirt so he will be keen to continue that good form against the Reds.
Trent Alexander-Arnold
Whilst not quite yet at top-form, the young full-back will be looking forward to returning to the King Power Stadium after his stunning showing in the East-Midlands last season. The Reds' academy graduate turned in arguably his best showing in a Liverpool shirt, providing two assists as well as notching a well-taken goal of his own.
With Leicester missing regular left-back Justin, whoever is selected to deputise in that position is surely set to be in for a tough afternoon.
Pre-match Thoughts
The match could potentially be a considerable one as Leicester hunt down a top-four spot and Rodgers has suggested it could be a good indicator to see the development his side has made.
Speaking ahead of the clash said, the Northern-Irishman said: "I don’t think it will define where we finish and it’s going to be a really tough game for us. It will help measure our progress.
"The game last season at home, we started very well, but we’ve given away poor goals against Liverpool. If we can cut them out and play with aggression and quality, we are hopeful it can be another good game for us.”
Meanwhile, Klopp has reserved praise for his opposite number Rodgers ahead of the match.
He said: "I couldn't respect Brendan's work more. The job he is doing and they are doing is really really good (at Leicester). They had some injury problems too and came through properly and are now a real competitor."
How To Watch
You can watch Leicester City vs Liverpool on BT Sport 1 from 11:30am, with kick off coming an hour later.
Otherwise, you can also follow the game along with VAVEL's LIVE blog.