Liverpool lie in wait for schedule-vexed Foxes

Leicester City face runaway Premier League leaders Liverpool on Boxing Day knowing their own title hopes are very much in the balance.

Thursday’s match will see the second-placed Foxes, the shock 2015/16 champions, kick off 10 points adrift of Liverpool, who will arrive in the East Midlands fresh from winning a maiden Club World Cup title following a 1-0 victory over Brazilian side Flamengo in Qatar.

One of the more remarkable statistics in English football is that it is nearly 30 years since Liverpool were last crowned domestic champions in what was then the First Division.

But Premier League silverware is now in sight following a successful 2019 that has also seen Liverpool take the Champions League and UEFA Super Cup trophies back to Anfield as well as the Club World Cup.

One of the enduring peculiarities of the English game that has not changed, however, is the packed programme of matches that take place during the Christmas and New Year holiday period.

The congested schedule is again causing headaches for managers, with Foxes boss Brendan Rodgers saying the fixture list is a “nonsense”.

Leicester kick off against Liverpool at 2000 GMT on Thursday before they play West Ham on Saturday.

They then complete four games in 10 days with a trip to Newcastle on New Year’s Day, before hosting Wigan in the FA Cup on Jan.4.

This presents Rodgers with a problem about how often to field Jamie Vardy, the league’s leading scorer so far this season, given the striker is now aged 32.

“The game is about money now. You can’t say it’s about the welfare of players,” insisted Rodgers, himself a former Liverpool manager who added that Vardy, for all he has scored 16 goals this term, had “no chance” of being involved throughout the festive period.

Liverpool will be without Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain after the midfielder suffered an ankle injury against Flamengo as Jurgen Klopp’s side, unbeaten in the Premier League this season, bid to go 13 points clear and all but end the title-race before by the halfway stage.

Meanwhile, Willian’s performance at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last weekend highlighted just why Frank Lampard is keen to see the Brazilian’s future at Chelsea resolved.

While much of the focus this season has been trained on the outstanding contribution of the youngsters in Blues manager Lampard’s squad, Willian’s performances on the right of a front three have been consistently excellent.

The winger appeared to have lost his way in recent seasons, particularly last term when he struggled for consistency under Maurizio Sarri and appeared in danger of leaving the London club.

This campaign has been different, though, and Lampard will hope the player can inspire a return to home form when Southampton visit Stamford Bridge on Thursday following Chelsea’s impressive 2-0 defeat of Jose Mourinho’s Spurs.

Willian was certainly the stand-out performer in a display Lampard admitted was probably his side’s best of the season after a worrying run of form that had brought four defeats in the previous five Premier League games, included home losses to Bournemouth and West Ham.

There were always going to be frustrating periods for Lampard and his players in what is a season of transition for for Chelsea, who are nevertheless now fourth in the Premier League.

The task of bedding in a number of graduates from the club’s academy against the backdrop of the pre-season transfer embargo has inevitably presented challenges.

Willian, though, has maintained impressively high levels, appearing rejuvenated under the club’s new manager.

Certainly Lampard appears to have found the key to drawing the best out of the 31-year-old whose work on the right has contributed to striker Tammy Abraham making such a significant impact in his breakthrough season at west London club Chelsea.

Willian’s work ethic had been questioned previously, with his failure to track back and support his full-back at times highlighted last season.

This time around, there can be no doubt about his willingness to put in the hard yards.

And he has strengthened his hand in his contract negotiations with the club as he seeks a new deal that will keep him at Chelsea beyond the end of this season.

Agence France-Presse

English League Fixtures (1500 GMT unless stated):

Thursday: Aston Villa vs Norwich, Bournemouth vs Arsenal, Chelsea vs Southampton, Crystal Palace vs West Ham, Everton vs Burnley, Leicester vs Liverpool (2000 GMT), Manchester United vs Newcastle (1730 GMT), Sheffield United vs Watford,

Tottenham vs Brighton (1230 GMT)

Friday: Wolves vs Manchester City (1945 GMT)