Liverpool host Leicester in their Boxing Day clash, and the visitors arrive having conceded a whopping 82 shots on goal across Ruud van Nistelrooy’s first four games in charge.
To say the Reds and the Foxes are experiencing contrasting fortunes this season would be putting it lightly.
Whereas Liverpool sit at the top of the table with just one defeat from 16 games under new manager Arne Slot, Leicester are one place above the relegation zone and are onto their second manager.
After briefly overseeing Man United as caretaker boss, Van Nistelrooy was selected to replace Steve Cooper after he was sacked just five months into the job.
The Dutchman has ben in charge for four games at Leicester, collecting four points but giving Liverpool plenty of encouragement in the aftermath of their attacking show at Tottenham.
Incredibly, the Foxes have conceded 82 shots on goal across their last four outings – an average of 20.5 shots per game, which has culminated in conceding a total of 10 goals.
Leicester‘s four games under Van Nistelrooy:
- Won 3-1 vs. West Ham (H) – Shots conceded: 31
- Drew 2-2 vs. Brighton (H) – Shots conceded: 16
- Lost 4-0 vs. Newcastle (A) – Shots conceded: 27
- Lost 3-0 vs. Wolves (H) – Shots conceded: 8
Unbelievably, 31 shots were aimed at their goal in the 3-1 win over West Ham in Van Nistelrooy’s first game – which perhaps also says a lot about Liverpool’s opponents on Sunday!
With Mohamed Salah in frightening form, the Reds’ attackers will be licking their lips at the prospect of surging forward against this Leicester outfit.
Ex-Red Danny Ward has been in goal for the last 135 minutes after an injury to Mads Hermansen, and he was the subject of boos from his own fans after their 3-0 defeat to Wolves over the weekend.
Jakub Stolarczyk could, however, come into contention at Anfield after Van Nistelrooy confirmed that “he’s completely fit” following Sunday’s heavy defeat.
As per FotMob, the Boxing Day clash pits Leicester, who have the third-highest xG conceded across the league (35.2), against a Liverpool side with the highest xG (36.9) across the division.
This essentially means that the Foxes should have conceded 35 goals based based on quality of chances they surrender, in reality they have allowed 37 to hit the back of the net.
For the Reds, they are marginally outperforming their expected goals (xG) having scored 37 in 16 games – Salah is responsible for 40.5 percent of those.
Only time will tell if this fixture is as one-sided as the stats suggest, but you can be assured that Slot will not allow his side to underestimate Leicester when so much is on the line.
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