Leicester eyeing “Christmas miracle” at Anfield amid full-back concerns

December 24, 2024
Henry Jackson

Leicester supporters are hoping for a “Christmas miracle” when they face Liverpool on Boxing Day, following a sobering return to the Premier League.

The Reds thrashed Tottenham 6-3 on Sunday, in a huge win, while the Foxes were busy losing 3-0 at home to Wolves.

It has been a tough campaign for Leicester, with Ruud van Nistelrooy now in charge after Steve Cooper’s sacking, and their next assignment is a tough one.

They head to Liverpool for a Boxing Day evening clash, with everything pointing towards a home win for Arne Slot‘s side.

With the biggest festive day in the football calendar approaching, TIA spoke to Jamie Thorpe (@thorpie54) to discuss a tough season for Leicester, the Reds’ title hopes and more.

How happy are you with Leicester’s season so far?

The only saving grace to the season so far is that, inexplicably, three teams are currently worse than us.

It started well, with the draw against Spurs on the opening day full of everything you’d want for a newly-promoted team: battling qualities, tenacity and a crowd that reacted to the game to add an extra edge.

This is probably the only time we have performed for the full 90 minutes in a game all season, though, and therein lies the problem.

Don’t get me wrong, we’ve had some brilliant moments – late equalisers and winners, in particular – but these have really just papered over the cracks.

Steve Cooper’s sacking may seem surprising to the outside looking in, but the disjointed nature of the team’s performances was clearly too much for Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, AKA “Top”, to ignore.

After leaving it far too long to sack Brendan Rodgers in the relegation season of 2022/23, the club decided to act.

How confident are you of avoiding relegation?

I am writing this not long after watching us capitulate at home to a seriously poor Wolves side, so I think it would be fair to say my confidence has been shaken.

In fact, it was the perfect microcosm of the season so far.

In reality, we weren’t THAT bad, and to be honest, looked largely the more accomplished side in the first half.

But three inexplicable, schoolboy-level errors meant we were on the wrong side of a 3-0 scoreline.

These individual mistakes have been characteristic of the season and have completely hamstrung us so far.

Who have been Leicester’s best players this season?

Mads Hermansen in goal has easily been our best player. He’s sensational.

An excellent shot stopper who is equally comfortable with the ball at his feet, I’d be amazed if he was a Leicester player much longer, in all honesty.

Bouba Soumare has undergone something of a renaissance at Leicester after flattering to deceive in his early seasons with us. We are finally seeing more return on his undoubted potential.

Bilal El-Khannouss has also started to get to grips with the Premier League following his move in the summer. Again, we are probably only seeing him in flashes, but there is undoubtedly a very good player in him.

Conversely, the entire defence has struggled, but James Justin has come in for particular criticism.

There was once a time when JJ was heralded as one of the better Premier League right backs, and rightly so, but he looks a long way from that now.

What are your thoughts on Arne Slot at Liverpool?

It’s hard not to be an admirer of Arne Slot.

He has hit the ground running and managed to overdeliver on expectation levels, which in his role is saying something.

There seems to be a pragmatism to the side now, with the ability to play in different ways depending on the opposition.

How do you assess the title race?

It’s exciting…finally!

It’s great as a neutral to see a few teams in with a shout.

Liverpool are obviously setting a strong pace, and it is hard to look beyond them at the minute, but there are at least a couple of teams that will push them the whole way.