I am looking forward to Leicester vs Liverpool at the King Power Stadium. Or is it more accurate to say I would have been excited about this game regardless of the league table? Games between the Foxes and Reds have always been fun to watch. Last season’s game in the Midlands featured a memorable Alisson error that sent the goalkeeping community in meltdown, while up North, Claude Puel’s men were arguably better than their hosts in a 1-1 draw.
This season’s reverse fixture saw some late drama when Marc Albrighton fouled Saido Mane leading to a late penalty and a deserved win for Liverpool at Anfied. Leading up to that game, the general consensus was that this was a tricky game for the Reds to navigate and rightly so. It wasn’t billed as a title clash. Then Leicester’s 8-game winning streak happened. All of a sudden the Boxing Day game is being billed as a title decider.
Leicester are a good team. On occasion, they have been genuinely enjoyable to watch. On occasion, they have also been pretty clueless. Leicester are second in the table, but are they genuinely the second best team in the league? In my opinion the answer is no. Even if the Foxes win tomorrow, I would not consider them title contenders. Liverpool are far ahead in the journey and have done the hard yards to establish thamselves as contenders since 2018. The hosts are undertaking a refreshing new journey, but even Brendan Rodgers realizes his side are barely at the halfway stage of their development. If we do feel the need for a “title race” my money is still on City being Liverpool’s closest contenders. Meanwhile, I am going to enjoy the game tomorrow simply because its Leicester vs Liverpool, Rodgers and Jurgen Klopp pitting their wits against each other, the four best fullbacks in the league, Salah, Mane, Vardy, Tielemans, etc. I dont' need a contrived narrative.