Liverpool is set to face some well-known opponents when they clash with Leicester City on Boxing Day, including a past Red who currently isn’t having the best time with the team.
The Reds are keen to consolidate their lead at the pinnacle of the Premier League as they welcome the Foxes to Anfield. Arne Slot’s squad will celebrate Christmas Day as league leaders, and securing a win against Leicester would ensure they remain at the top as they move into 2025.
Liverpool will be expected to overcome Ruud van Nistelrooy’s side, with Leicester sitting just two points off the relegation zone. One or two of their players might not be relishing a trip to Anfield either.
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Fans will remember Wout Faes’ nightmare performance the last time he came to Liverpool, with the defender scoring two comical own goals back in December 2022. Van Nistelrooy may well rely on former Red Conor Coady to save the Belgian any more Anfield embarrassment.
Another ex-Liverpool player could do with a boost, with Danny Ward not enjoying his recent return to the Foxes’ side. The 31-year-old goalkeeper joined the Reds from Wrexham in 2012, making just three appearances for the club before departing for Leicester in 2018.
Ward was booed by his own supporters at the weekend as Leicester fell to a 3-0 defeat at home to Wolves, while he was also ironically cheered while collecting the ball during the second half. Ahead of his return to Anfield, where he looks as though he could play again with regular No.1 Mads Hermansen out injured, Van Nistelrooy has jumped to the defense of Ward.
“It doesn’t make it easier for him, of course, and the team,” Van Nistelrooy said of the booing. “Of course, we all understand disappointments from the crowd, but it shouldn’t go to one player. Booing and being disappointed with the result is a fan’s right to show their emotions and we all do that, but when it is targeted to one person that is something that is hard to see.
“He kept his composure very well over the course of the game. It’s not easy when something happens like that and when you catch a ball and people start cheering or and boo you on a personal level.
“When it gets personal like that, I think he handled it very well, and he’s the first one to look in the mirror, like all of us. They all want to do well and perform and give their best for the club. Sometimes, it doesn’t work out. It never crossed my mind, (to take him off to protect him). It’s good to stick together as a squad and as a club. I’m sticking with my players.”
