Leicester v Liverpool
EFL Carabao Cup
Tuesday, 19:45
Live on Sky Sports Main Event

Tough start for Foxes but Shakespeare looks up for the cup

It's been a slightly disappointing start to the season for Leicester but the reality is they've had to face Arsenal and Manchester United away from home, and defending champions Chelsea at the King Power Stadium in three of their first four league games.

Craig Shakespeare's men acquitted themselves well in all three of those matches but picked up no points, and perhaps a better indication as to where the surprise 2015/16 champions are at right now can be gauged by taking a look at their three results in which they were the more fancied team to win.

A comfortable 2-0 home victory over Brighton in the league was followed by a very impressive 4-1 win at Sheffield United in the previous round of this competition, and on Saturday Shakespeare's men drew 1-1 at Huddersfield in a game that could easily have gone either way.

So the Foxes look like being a comfortable mid-table side, and perhaps a good cup run is perfectly possible.

As always, team news is pretty much non-existent at the time of writing ahead of Tuesday night's tie, but even if we did have an inkling as to who will be in the squad we'd be completely guessing - which we'll obviously endeavour to do later in this preview - as to what the starting XI might be. But Shakespeare did suggest in the previous round that he'll be taking this competition very seriously so we should expect a strong line-up.

Inconsistency the only consistent aspect to Reds' season

Quite typical of Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp they've started the season with a mixed bag of results. We've had many examples of the Reds' inconsistency in 2017, none more so then when at the start of the year they beat the likes of Man City, Arsenal, Tottenham, and Everton, but lost to out-of-form teams such as Hull, Swansea, and Championship outfit Wolves.

And already this season Liverpool have demonstrated their inconsistent nature by thrashing Arsenal at Anfield, and scoring six in a two-legged Champions League tie against decent German side Hoffenheim, yet either side of those results Klopp's men failed to beat Watford and Burnley, while they were hammered 5-0 by Manchester City.

The Reds have become extremely unpredictable but on their day they can be brilliant. Knowing when their day will be however is always going to be your biggest headache.

I also get the feeling that the EFL Cup isn't going to be high on Klopp's list of priorities this season and that we may well see a very unfamiliar line-up on Tuesday night. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain looks certain to be given his full Liverpool debut however, but expect the likes of Dominic Solanke, Marko Grujic, and Ben Woodburn all to figure.

Home win the obvious call at these odds

I was very surprised when I first starting previewing this game and saw Leicester available to back at 4.30. I missed the boat slightly but did get a bet on the Foxes at 4.10, and I wouldn't put anyone off backing them at their current price of 3.85.

Liverpool opened up at odds-on, and have been matched at a low of 1.84, and my initial thinking was 4.30 about a home win versus the Reds' odds-on price was more in line with how a Premier League fixture between these two sides would be priced up. And even then I'd have huge reservations about backing Liverpool given how inconsistent they can be.

The Reds are on the drift and can now be backed at 2.10 but I have no interest in backing the away win at that price with the likelihood that Klopp will name a much changed side to the one we'd usually see in the league.

Shakespeare named a strong starting XI for the trip to Bramall Lane in the previous round and I don't see any reason why he won't do similar here. Leicester don't play again until Saturday evening, which by pure coincidence is a home league game against Liverpool, and I imagine the Foxes boss will be targeting a cup win knowing that it will act as confidence-booster ahead of the weekend clash.

Leicester have also won the last two home clashes against Liverpool, both in the Premier League, winning 2-0 in their title-winning season and 3-1 last term in what was Shakespeare's first game in charge. Odds of 3.85 about another home win simply look too big.

Liverpool are playing, so goals are likely

Whenever Liverpool are in action you always have to consider the Over 2.5 Goals option, regardless of who they are playing. They can be brilliant going forward and quite the opposite defensively, and although many of the personnel who contribute to the Reds being that way could be missing on Tuesday night, a price of around 1.80 on witnessing at least three goals still seems very fair.

Liverpool's three away games this term have averaged 4.66 goals per match, and although Leicester's two home games have averaged exactly 2.5 goals per match they've already been involved in some high-scoring affairs away from home; 4-3 at Arsenal and 1-4 at Sheffield United for example.

And consider also the head-to-head results between these two sides. A total of 20 goals have been scored in the last six meetings, while at the King Power Stadium the last three matches between Leicester and Liverpool averaged 3.33 goals per game.

Regardless of who lines up for each side I'd be very surprised if this clash doesn't feature goals, and wagering that we'll see at least four of them is the recommended bet.

Recommended Bets
Back Leicester to Win @ 3.85 (best bet)
Back Over 3.5 Goals @ 2.90




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