MADRID, 7 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Liverpool faces Leicester City this Thursday (20:45) on matchday 24 of the Premier League, after eliminating Cardiff in the FA Cup and advancing to the round of 16, in a great moment of form and waiting for a ‘prick’ ‘ of Manchester City, which continues as the undisputed leader and will seek not to see its distance over the ‘reds’ reduced with a victory against Brentford.
Jürgen Klopp’s team seems to be establishing itself in second place in the Premier with 48 points, one above Chelsea, its closest pursuer with two more games and who will not play this day, so extending that distance becomes one more incentive . After his last setback, precisely against his next rival, he is undefeated with five wins and two draws.
In their last game, Liverpool beat Cardiff in the round of 32 of the FA Cup (3-1), in a duel in which Harvey Elliot returned from injury and the new signing Luis Díaz made his debut with very good feelings. The Colombian could once again have minutes against the ‘foxes’, waiting for Sadio Mané, new Africa Cup champion with Senegal, and Mohamed Salah, finalist of said tournament, to finally enter the squad for this matchday.
Thus, the Spanish Thiago Alcántara and the Belgian Divock Origi are the only sure casualties for the German coach, in a team that will hide behind the Anfield fortress, its great fortress this season, where they have not yet lost, with 13 wins and four draws among all competitions.
Opposite will be Leicester City, entrenched in the middle of the table (10th with 26 points), but experiencing a bad moment of results, with two defeats in their last three games, the last and most painful against Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup ( 4-1). In addition, they have not won away from home since October 24 and have lost five games in a row. Vardy and Evans, two great assets for those of Brendan Rodgers, are still injured.
For its part, Manchester City, also in the second round of the FA Cup after defeating Fulham (4-1), hosts Brentford on Wednesday. The Etihad team drew against Southampton (1-1) on the last day of the Premier, a setback that gives Liverpool hope. Even so, Pep Guardiola’s team continues with its particular League, nine points above the ‘reds’, with a superiority so far unattainable for all its rivals for the title.
With no casualties in the squad, the ‘citizens’ face the duel with all the guarantees to forget that last ‘puncture’ and recover the path of victory in an Etihad in which they have only lost once this season and where they have only received 6 goals against. Meanwhile, Brentford arrives with sensitive absences and is close to relegation after conceding four straight losses.
Manchester United have a great opportunity to establish themselves in the Champions League places against bottom Burnley. His last two wins -Brentford (1-3) and West Ham (1-0)- have catapulted him to fourth place with 38 points.
However, this push was slowed down by his defeat last Friday against Middlesbrough (1-2), so forget that setback, supported by a Cristiano Ronaldo who has not yet made his debut as a scorer in 2022.
On a day where Chelsea will not play for the Club World Cup, West Ham, Arsenal and Tottenham will try to take advantage of a mistake by United to storm their fourth place with wins against Watford, Wolverhampton and Southampton, respectively.
–PROGRAM OF THE DAY 24.
-Tuesday 7 February.
Newcastle – Everton 20.45.
West Ham – Watford 20.45.
Burnley – Manchester United 21.00.
-Wednesday 8.
Manchester City – Brentford 20.45.
Norwich – Crystal Palace 20.45.
Tottenham – Southampton 20.45.
Aston Villa – Leeds United 21.00.
-Thursday 9.
Liverpool – Leicester City 20.45.
Wolwerhampton – Arsenal 20.45.