CHRIS Graham (@chrisgraham79) focuses on the Monday night match between Leicester and Liverpool for us.
Leicester v Liverpool | Monday 20:00 | Sky Sports 1
What a fascinating Monday night match awaits us as Nasty Leicester take on a rested Liverpool side hoping to get back into the Top 3 of the Premier League.
A match overshadowed
This match is of course overshadowed by Thursday's dramatic sacking of Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri. It's hard to remember a dismissal that's caused so much opprobrium from the general public. The only one that's got close in recent years was Nigel Adkins getting shown the door at Southampton.
Whether you think the fallen hero's sacking was fair or not, it's not fanciful to assume that his absence from the dressing room can only be a positive in relation to this game.
There was just simply too much smoke wafting about for the rumours of dressing room unrest to be false. His removal from that room could be a fillip for the playing staff.
As I mentioned in my preview of their match against Sevilla last week, I fancied Leicester to emerge with credit in that fixture and that was certainly the case despite a harrowing first half.
Leicester in big games
In big games this season against Sevilla, Man City, Arsenal and Spurs they've raised their performance levels from the sluggish depths of this season generally and we may see something similar on Monday night.
The home crowd could also play a key part. No doubt Ranieri's name will be sung from the rafters but weirdly that might act as a spur to plough that anger and sadness into backing the team. What else can they do with the side in the bottom three?
And the bottom three eh? What a humiliation to these feted journeymen after last season's glory. If they have got their way and saw off their boss then now is the time to repay the owners and fans and get out of this mess.
Dangerous opponents
Liverpool look very dangerous opponents. After a disastrous January they redeemed themselves to a point with an impressive well deserved 2-0 victory over Tottenham two weeks ago.
This high-energy side thrive on rest and a 16 day break between that game and this makes them look a fearsome prospect. This is the biggest rest they've had all season alongside the October international break and they should be thriving for this match.
With so many factors at play here I think we might see a classic (that might look silly come Tuesday morning) and I'm banking on both sides coming to the party armed with high-class performances.
First off I'll be getting with Over 3.5 Goals at 2/1 with 188BET and I'll also have a suck on Over 1.5 Leicester Goals at 27/10 with 32Red. Oi Kasper, oi Jamie, now is the time to show some respect you treacherous arseholes!
Best Bets
Leicester v Liverpool – Over 3.5 Goals (2/1 188BET)
Leicester v Liverpool – Over 1.5 Leicester Goals (27/10 32Red)
