Liverpool v Leicester: Back goals galore with entertainment expected at Anfield

• Liverpool have won three on the spin

• Leicester W0-D1-L7 against the top-half

• Goals forecast for Anfield encounter

Liverpool impress at Villa Park

Jurgen Klopp has vowed Liverpool will be a "pain in the backside" for their Champions League qualification rivals after they edged nearer the top four with a hard-earned 3-1 victory at Aston Villa on Boxing Day. The Reds remain in sixth place but have moved to within five points of fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur with a game in hand.

Goals from Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk put Liverpool in control by the break at Villa Park, although the visitors than had to withstand strong pressure after Ollie Watkins pulled one back. But a debut senior strike from teenager Stefan Bajectic two minutes after coming on earned the Reds a third successive Premier League win for the first time this season.

And Klopp said: "We have to be the pain in the backside for everybody. We are the chasers. And in a difficult game here we played a lot of good stuff. We were not superior in all moments, but I loved the start of the game, that was really, really good and exactly what we wanted. We had to dig deep, but we got the three points and that's all we wanted."

Luis Dias and Diogo Jota remain sidelined, along with Artur, whilst Roberto Firmino is also likely to miss out on Friday along with Curtis Jones and James Milner. Elsewhere, centre-half Ibrahima Konate could be included following his appearance in the World Cup final.

Rodgers critical of Leicester's efforts

Leicester chief Brendan Rodgers admitted to surprise over the Foxes' costly lack of aggression in their 3-0 Boxing Day defeat to Newcastle. The City boss was disappointed by his side's attitude and commitment on what was the club's first Premier League home match for nearly two months, suggesting they did not play like they wanted to win.

That lax start was Leicester's downfall, as they found themselves 2-0 behind inside seven minutes. The Foxes' aggression out of possession had helped turn around their poor form, but that was lacking at the King Power Stadium in the first half. And Rodgers' side were barely able to lay a glove on their opposition as they looked to turn the tide thereafter.

Rodgers said: "In terms of mental aggression, physicality, we didn't start like we wanted to go and win the game. We were so slow, the attitude at the beginning was really poor and before we know it we were 2-0 down. In terms of aggression we just weren't angry enough in our mentality and when we had the ball we lacked a lot of quality."

Meanwhile, James Maddison remains a major doubt for the trip to Anfield with the midfielder "not near to playing" according to Rodgers. Dennis Praet replaced the playmaker against Newcastle but the Belgian came off after around a quarter of an hour following a blow to the hip and is now also considered doubtful for Friday night's fixture.

Merseysiders red-hot favourites

Liverpool have been beaten by Leicester in their last two trips to the King Power Stadium, although the Reds have tended to be too strong for the Foxes at Anfield. Since suffering a surprise home reverse at the turn of the century to City, the Merseysiders are unbeaten in 11 league meetings here with Leicester (W9-D2-L0), winning six of the last seven.

Three Premier League wins on the spin have pushed Liverpool 1.351/3 back into the top-six and Jurgen Klopp's charges should relish their return to Anfield. Since the start of last season, the Reds have returned W20-D6-L1 on home soil and averaged 2.59 goals as hosts; that record reads W13-D3-L1 when viewing matches against bottom-half opposition.

Leicester 9.6017/2 are only four points clear of the dreaded drop zone despite their recent resurgence before the World Cup. The majority of the Foxes' finest work has arrived against fellow strugglers with City winless against current top-half teams (W0-D1-L7) as 88% of their overall Premier League points tally has been earned against bottom-six outfits.

Goals forecast for Friday night

Liverpool's home ties have produced a 3.63 goals per-game average. The Reds have seen Over 2.5 Goals 1.528/15 click in five of eight Anfield outings, with Both Teams To Score 1.8810/11 also banking in five of their eight Merseyside matches. Surprisingly, Jurgen Klopp's hosts have managed only four clean sheets across their full league campaign this term.

Leicester boast a remarkable goalscoring record on the road. Since the beginning of 2021/22, the Foxes have found the back of the net in 25 of 27 games as guests in the Premier League as BTTS has banked in a huge 21 (78%) away days. Those road trips have produced 3.76 goals per-game and another high-scoring shootout could on the cards here.

£5 Free Bet Builder

Liverpool to win and Over 2.5 Goals holds plenty of appeal at 1.804/5, although the 2.809/5 available via the Bet Builder for Liverpool to win, Both Teams To Score and a Goal Scored In Both Halves could be well worthy of an interest considering you can get a £5 Free Bet when you place a £5 Bet Builder on this particular match-up on Friday night via the Sportsbook.