Liverpool’s playmaker Coutinho says a fast start is absolutely key to our chances of beating Leicester City tonight.
The champions have sacked Claudio Ranieri and Craig Shakespeare is taking temporary charge, meaning the ground is likely to be very atmospheric – with Leicester’s players surely going all out to prove a point…
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We lost 2-0 to the Foxes at the King Power last term, but this time around they’re a completely different animal.
Coutinho says it’s vital we begin quickly as this will hopefully quieten the ground. We were superb against Spurs last time out, doing exactly that, but showed in January on many occasions it’s not automatic.
The Brazilian told Sky Sports: “We have to get on the field 100 per cent focused and try to do the same as we did in the game with Tottenham.
“We have to be focused from the first minute. We were not 100 per cent focused in the Hull game.
“I do not know why, sometimes it happens.
“In the second half, we came back better but, of course, in the Premier League if a team plays a first or second half badly, it becomes complicated.
“What we have to try to do is the same as we did in the game with Tottenham. That game should serve as an example – play well from the first minute.”
Coutinho will start on the left, with Sadio Mane on the right and Roberto Firmino at centre-forward. It’s this trio that make Liverpool dangerous, especially with Adam Lallana running on from central midfield.
Our talisman hasn’t scored since early November though, and it would be great for Coutinho to score tonight. He bagged five Premier League goals early on this term, but his foot injury picked up against Sunderland kept him out for two months and he’s not bagged yet having returned.