After moving into the FA Cup fifth round last weekend, Liverpool return to Premier League action against a wounded Leicester, aiming to close the gap between themselves and leaders Manchester City.
They have one game in hand compared to Pep Guardiola’s men but cannot afford to drop any points.
Ominously for the chasing pack, City have won the title on each occasion that they have topped the table at Christmas, while Wednesday’s 2-0 win against Brentford stretched their unbeaten league run to 14 games.
Liverpool have two games in hand over City and will have to take maximum points from each in order to reduce a daunting 12-point gap.
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Here’s how Liverpool could line up for the visit of Leicester and former manager Brendan Rodgers.
Defence
The Liverpool defence is one that strives off its consistency as the personnel rarely changes.
Summer signing Ibrahima Konate has competed alongside Joel Matip for the second centre-back slot alongside Virgil van Dijk, but the Frenchman has generally lost that duel, starting seven league games to the Cameroonian’s 17.
Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson are both fully fit and in excellent form. The pair rank first and second in the division for assists among defenders, with Alexander-Arnold providing 10 and Robertson setting up eight. Reece James and Joao Cancelo are next on the list with five each.
Liverpool fans must credit the fitness and conditioning team who have kept the full backs fit for many seasons. Alexander-Arnold has been especially reliable, starting in 20 of a possible 22 league games so far.
Midfield
Klopp’s midfield options have been thin at points in the campaign due to Harvey Elliott, Thiago Alcantara, Naby Keita and Fabinho suffering injuries.
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All three are fit and in contention for Leicester, however, captain Jordan Henderson has “a little bit of a back problem from the last game” and could miss out.
Keita may play his first league game of the year as he returned from Afcon earlier than Mane and Salah following Guinea’s surprise elimination at the hands of Gambia in the last-16.
Elliott could also start his first league game of the season after he returned from an ankle injury sustained against Leeds in September. The 18-year-old marked his first appearance of 2022 with a spectacular goal as a substitute against Cardiff on Sunday.
A sure starter this gameweek is Fabinho – the glue of the midfield who is an integral barrier to protect the defence. The Brazilian has missed six games due to injuries this season but generally starts when fit.
Attack
Salah arrived back in Merseyside after Afcon final disappointment and informed Klopp that he is prepared to play.
Mane, the winning penalty taker, went back to Senegal to celebrate the nation’s first Afcon and his flight was due back to Liverpool on Wednesday.
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He added: “Sadio is not back yet. We said it’s such a big thing for Senegal and we didn’t want to stress anyone there by bringing Sadio back. I think it will be tonight he is back.”
The decision whether to play Salah and Mane remain in the manager’s hands but it is fair to assume that the Senegalese will not start against Wolves.
Salah on the other hand seems motivated to put his final loss behind him and extend his lead in the Golden Boot charts. He is currently six goals ahead of teammate Diogo Jota.
Luis Diaz to start?
Since Mane is likely to miss out on Thursday new £37m signing Luis Diaz could make his first league appearance in all red.
Against Cardiff he came on to replace Curtis Jones and was instrumental in setting up the second goal after he took the ball on the byline and passed it to Jota who flicked it on to Takumi Minamino for a tap in.
Speaking on his performance Klopp said: “We can see he fitted in during the last game, he played exactly as we wanted him to. There’s a lot more to come.”
Predicted starting XI: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, van Dijk, Robertson; Fabinho, Eliott, Keita; Salah, Jota, Diaz
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