Liverpool In Focus: Mike Stowell
- First team and goalkeeping coach Mike Stowell says Leicester City must raise their game when they welcome Liverpool on Saturday (5:30pm kick-off)
- The Foxes host the Reds for the second time this week on Filbert Way
- Stowell believes Liverpool will again line up in a 4-3-3 formation
Leicester City triumphed 2-0 in the third round of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night, with both sides much-changed for the clash.
But the Club’s first team and goalkeeping coach is under no illusions as to Liverpool’s talents and believes they are again likely to deploy a dangerous 4-3-3 stratagem.
Stowell told LCFC TV: “I’m sure Liverpool will change their team for Saturday. It’ll be a different look Liverpool and we’ve probably made them angry, so we have to raise our game and find another way of beating them.
“It’s safe to say that they’ll play the same way in terms of passages of play and the formation of 4-3-3.
“Jurgen Klopp has got them working a system and it’s a very good one, but I’m sure that they’ve got other players like [Roberto] Firmino and [Daniel] Sturridge who’ll come back in.
“They’ve got a really strong squad and they will change it up. They’ve given their players an outing and I’m sure he took [Philippe] Coutinho off to save him for Saturday.”
Stowell: Raise Our Game
Mike Stowell discusses Saturday's Premier League clash with the Reds.
With seven fresh faces introduced into the City fold on Tuesday, Stowell believes the victory was also a display of the squad’s strength in depth.
“You can’t go through 38 league games and then other cup games without rotation,” he continued. “The only way you can give them match practice is in games like this.
“Slim (Islam Slimani) came up with a fantastic goal, but with Demarai [Gray] and Chilly (Ben Chilwell), there were some great performances in there. It was a useful experience.
“They’re always knocking on the door. It’s not just when they’re playing well but training well too. The manager watches them every single day, so they’ll be up for consideration. We pick the team to win the game and that was more than enough to win that game.”
As a second-straight home fixture approaches, Stowell believes the Foxes must build on their midweek victory and carry that optimism into Saturday’s showdown.
He added: “Every point is an important one. We want to win every game because every game is important for us. One for momentum and two for confidence.
“Hopefully what we achieved on Tuesday will help us and strive forward for the league and it gives us another game in the cup to look forward to.”
City’s fourth consecutive campaign in the Premier League is well underway and Stowell says the Club’s stars have learnt a lot since gaining promotion back in 2014, but knows there’s still plenty to come in England’s top flight.
“We had to grit it out against Huddersfield and the other night, we were under the cosh in the first half and we had to figure out a way of dealing with Liverpool’s movement and we did,” added Stowell.
“We found it in the second half. There’s a lot of ways to win a game and we are having to learn at times.
“It’s our fourth year in the Premier League, but you never stop learning. We’ve got a great, honest bunch of lads and all we ask is to give their all.”