Liverpool v Leicester City: Live matchday blog
Mohamed Salah scored twice as Liverpool came from behind to beat Leicester City 2-1 at Anfield in the final game of 2017.
Salah sustains knock
Jürgen Klopp confirmed after the game Mohamed Salah was limping after his match-winning performance and will need to be checked by the club's medical team to see if he can face Burnley in two days' time.
Click here to read what the boss said.
Stats all, folks
Check out the numbers from that exhausting, back-and-forth game with our Opta widgets.
Full Time
Liverpool 2-1 Leicester City
All over at Anfield and what a win that is.
The Reds come from behind and get all three points in a hard-fought, needly game thanks to Mohamed Salah's brilliant double.
Well done, Liverpool.
Yellow Card
Robertson into the book as three minutes of added time are indicated.
Substitution
The Reds facing an aerial barrage and Klopp responds by bringing on Klavan for Coutinho.
Okazaki latches onto a ball in behind but Robertson is there on the cover.
Liverpool facing a testing final few minutes here.
Substitution
Mohamed Salah replaced by Gini Wijnaldum for Liverpool, while Marc Albrighton makes way for Matty James for Leicester.
Goal
Liverpool 2-1 Leicester (Salah)
The Reds go in front!
Unbelievable stuff from Salah, who finds the strength to roll Maguire and then the composure to slot beyond Schmeichel.
Get in!
Liverpool spring a counter than ends in Coutinho on the left of the box.
The Brazilian cuts in and shoots but Schmeichel just about parries.
Substitution
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain enters the fray, replacing Sadio Mane.
Leicester follow that up with a double substitution as Islam Slimani and Shinji Okazaki take the places of Jamie Vardy and Riyadh Mahrez.
Leicester enjoying their best period of the game now.
Two long Fuchs throw-ins and a Mahrez corner well dealt with by Liverpool, however.
Disallowed Goal
Mane has another ruled out.
The winger again offside, this time from a ball chipped in behind.
Yellow Card
Ndidi catches Coutinho after the Brazilian passes and that's a yellow card.
Firmino slips the ball inside to Coutinho and his first-time chipped pass gets Salah behind the Leicester defence again.
Unfortunately, the No.11's lobbed finish finds the roof of the net.
Goal
Liverpool 1-1 Leicester (Salah)
What a goal!
Mane's backheel gets Salah in behind and he jinks across a defender and the goalkeeper before finishing coolly.
Liverpool piling the pressure on in the early stages of the half but a foot here, a block there has kept them out.
And now Salah is claiming a penalty after tumbling in the box but the referee is uninterested.
Kick-Off
Liverpool get the game back under way.
Let's hope for a touch more good fortune this half...
In numbers
Check out the stats from that half with our Opta widget below.
Half Time
Liverpool 0-1 Leicester City
A frustrating half comes to a close.
The Reds the better side by far but they trail after being punished for an early mistake by Jamie Vardy.
One minute of added time indicated as Mane shoots wide.
Gomez wins a header that gets Salah in behind but the winger is flagged offside.
Liverpool are close to cracking this Foxes backline but a moment of composure needed.
Match shot
Coutinho evades his man.
Two corners in quick succession for the Reds but Leicester get it away.
How long can the visitors cope under this pressure?
Robertson charges into the Leicester box and is shoulderbarged to the ground... no penalty.
You've seen them given.
Liverpool go close twice in quick succession.
Firmino sees a shot saved and Salah is inches from poking the follow-up in. Argh!
Disallowed Goal
Mane has the ball in the net but it's not going to count.
The Senegalese breaks the line in poking a Robertson cross home and the flag goes up.
Coutinho smashes a goal shotward but Schmeichel is behind it all the way.
Liverpool threatening but that Leicester counter is always there.
Yellow Card
Milner gets the wrong side of an advancing Mahrez and his sliding challenge is deemed worthy of a yellow card.
Liverpool so unlucky not to be level.
Mane's cross reaches Salah and he takes a defender out of the game with a great first touch - unfortunately he shot is just wide of the post.
Goal
Liverpool 0-1 Leicester (Vardy)
A nightmare start for the hosts.
The Reds surrender possession in their own half and Iborra and Mahrez combine to provide Vardy with a tap-in in the box.
Kick-Off
Leicester get the game under way, with Liverpool attacking the Anfield Road end this half.
Almost there
Here come the players - kick-off is moments away at Anfield.
Behind the scenes
Here's what awaits them in the home dressing room at Anfield.
Anfield arrivals
The lads are here - and plenty of smiles on show!
And the opposition
Schmeichel; Amartey, Maguire, Morgan, Fuchs, Mahrez, Iborra, Ndidi, Albrighton, Gray, Vardy.
Subs: Hamer, Dragovic, Slimani, Okazaki, James, Thomas, Musa.
Team news
Karius, Gomez, Matip, Lovren, Robertson, Can, Milner, Coutinho, Mane, Salah, Firmino.
Subs: Mignolet, Wijnaldum, Klavan, Lallana, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Solanke, Alexander-Arnold.
Five changes for the Reds.
Scene setting
Here's a look at Anfield in the build-up to kick-off.
Odds and sods
Here's how BETVICTOR rate both teams' chances.
Liverpool 1/3
Draw 5/1
Leicester City 9/1
Captain's log
Jordan Henderson wants to see his teammates sign off a good 2017 at Anfield in style today.
He wrote in This Is Anfield: "Clearly we have one more big game to negotiate today, but whatever happens this afternoon, Anfield has been a really positive place for us and we’ve picked up a lot of points here. Looking back at teams that achieve things, they tend to have really strong home form, and by-and-large we can point to ours being very healthy."
Media briefing
See exactly what the boss had to say ahead of today's game by watching his pre-match press conference in full on YouTube below.
FYI, you can watch every Klopp preview live and free on our YouTube channel.
Weather
A look to the skies
Those who are in the know about these types of things are expecting temperatures of nine degrees celsius come kick-off today at Anfield.
Mercifully, the chance of precipitation apparently stands at one per cent: no hoods required.
Numbers game
Check out these little factoids...
- Liverpool could equal the club's longest unbeaten run under Jürgen Klopp across all competitions today; the German oversaw a 15-match undefeated streak from August to December in 2016.
- The Reds average 2.03 league goals per game under Klopp and no Liverpool manager since 1896 has a higher goals-to-league-game ratio.
- Fourteen goals have been scored in the last three league meetings between Liverpool and Leicester.
Want some more? Have a read of Ged Rea's preview.
Inside Training
Go behind the scenes at a festive Melwood to see how the lads prepared for today's game against Leicester.
Not an LFCTV GO subscriber? Click here to find out more.
This Is Anfield
If you're planning on grabbing a copy of said programme today, here's what it looks like.
Get with the programme
A run of two games in just 48 hours begins today for Liverpool, and Jürgen Klopp believes his players will need the fans more than ever to get through that test.
In his matchday programme notes today, the boss wrote: “I loved how Anfield felt on Boxing Day. The noise and the energy in those final 30 minutes was amazing. With kicking off at 3pm today, against an opponent who will bring their own spark and zest, I think we can have an even better feeling inside this wonderful place if we choose to make it happen."
Flashback
Warm up for today's game by taking a look back at our last Anfield outing - the thrashing of Swansea on Boxing Day.
All five goals from that victory are contained in the Instagram clip embedded below.
Team news
Want a good idea of how the teams might line up today a whole four hours ahead of the starting XIs being made public?
We've got you covered with our rundown of the injuries and suspensions both sides have to contend with ahead of this one.
Kick-off
Hello and welcome to Liverpoolfc.com's live matchday blog for today's meeting with Leicester City at Anfield.
The Reds are out to make it 15 games unbeaten in all competitions by backing up a 5-0 win over Swansea City with another three points at home.
Stick with us for the best build-up and all the action from Anfield as it happens!