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Leicester may be the Premier League favorite, but coach Brendan Rodgers insists that emulating the club’s unlikely title win from four years ago is far from his mind.
The Foxes rose to the top of the table before the latest international break after claiming their sixth win in eight games and have had a better start to this season than when they lifted the title in 2015-16.
Even in this highly unpredictable season, Rodgers noted that not a quarter of the season has been played as he looked ahead to this weekend’s trip to former club Liverpool.
“We’ve only played eight games so I haven’t even thought about it,” he said. “We are off to a good start but for us what is very important is just a continuation to be really honest in our approach to the games.
“We have to work as hard as possible to try to make sure we have the humility that we have in the group that is important, and we prepare every day the best we can for each game.”
“That is what is only in our thinking and nothing else.”
Leicester have won at Manchester City and Arsenal in recent months, but a daunting challenge awaits them on Sunday night as Liverpool have not lost in the league at Anfield since April 2017.
While Liverpool will be missing a number of key players, including Mohamed Salah, Virgil Van Dijk, Joe Gomez, Jordan Henderson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, Rodgers knows the scale of the task facing his side.
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“They are an incredible team and even though they are short on players, it is still a team full of world class players that can really hurt you,” Rodgers said.
“You will have to defend well, be aggressive when you defend and in those moments of attack you have to be efficient and clinical.
“I really want to play, it’s always great when you play your best and clearly they have been.”
Rodgers will be left without some first-team players as Caglar Soyuncu and Wilfred Ndidi remain on the sidelines with groin injuries and while Ricardo Pereira is back in training after a knee problem, he misses out.
However, Timothy Castagne is back after a hamstring discomfort, while Wesley Fofana recovered from a minor knee problem for a game that sees Rodgers return to the club he coached from 2012 to 2015.
The Northern Irishman guided Liverpool to the brink of an inaugural Premier League title in 2014 before being overtaken by Manchester City, but Jurgen Klopp helped the Reds break a 30-year wait for a top flight crown last season. .
“Liverpool are an incredible club,” added Rodgers. “The last couple of seasons they have been world champions, Premier League champions, European champions, it’s a remarkable consistency. They are a top team with a great coach.
“I was part of the story there when it was totally different. The time I was there we were in eighth position and trying to create something with young players and loan players that we had to bring.
“We almost won the title with him.
“I am delighted with the club, it is a fantastic club, I learned so much from my time there and exposed myself to so many situations that you wouldn’t normally be as a coach. It was a great learning moment for me.”
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