Talking Heads: Klopp, Rodgers, Maddison & Salah Preview Leicester-Liverpool Showdown
- Leicester City welcome Liverpool to King Power Stadium on Saturday (12:30pm kick-off)
- The Premier League clash sees third host fourth on matchday 24 of the 2020/21 season
- Brendan Rodgers and James Maddison have spoken in the media this week
- Reds manager Jürgen Klopp and Mo Salah have also previewed their trip to Leicester
While City's recent record against the Reds is unenviable - without a win since 2017 - they do, however, currently sit above the Merseyside outfit by a solitary place in the Premier League table.
Ahead of Saturday's Filbert Way encounter, key figures from both dressing rooms have been speaking in the media. Here's what they said...
Brendan Rodgers on Liverpool: "They've got fantastic players. The front line's still there. I know Jordan [Henderson] really well and he's a huge leader for them, on and off the field. The likes of him and [James Milner] will drive the players. They've set such a level over the last couple of years that, if there's any drop off, everyone will focus on that. They've still got players that can play at a really high level and they're up there challenging and will continue to."
Reds manager Jürgen Klopp told the media this week: “I couldn’t respect [Brendan Rodgers’] work more than I do. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it now. The job he is doing is really, really good. They have a really strong group together there, a really good squad. They’ve had some problems, injury-wise, as well and they came through it properly. They’re really competitive and that’s how we see the game. They did good business, signing really good players. [Marc] Albrighton looks like he doesn’t get older, [Jamie] Vardy’s the same. [Harvey] Barnes is probably one of the biggest talents, I’m not sure he’s as appreciated as he should be. He’s an unbelievable player. A proper Leicester product. In midfield, [Youri] Tielemans, all these guys… it’s just a good set-up.”
City No.10 James Maddison, speaking to LCFC TV, said: “I’m in good form. For me, it’s just about trying to show that consistency and keep improving and just being beneficial to the team. I’ve done about five interviews today and all the questions were about me and my numbers, but ultimately, if I think about it, it’s all about the team. I’m not saying that to be cliché, I’m saying that because that’s what it comes back to, it’s a team game, and at the end of the season, the table reflects on me where Leicester City are. I’ll keep trying to score goals and get assists for the team and hopefully we can stay at the right end because we love getting results which keep us at the top end of the Premier League.”
Liverpool and Egypt forward Mo Salah tells liverpoolfc.com: “I think last month was better than months before but we still need to win games. When I score goals and help the team to win games, that's what makes me happy. But if you score goals and the team is still not winning, that's not a great feeling. So we just need to carry on and I'm trying always to score goals to help the team. We just need to stick together and carry on, win games and stay with each other.”
All times GMT.