No hiding place for Liverpool

LONDON. — If ever there was a good day to bury bad news, Liverpool timed it to perfection on Monday, when a dreadful 3-1 defeat by Leicester City became a mere sideshow in the post- Claudio Ranieri circus.

Leicester’s remarkable transformation from relegation battlers to something resembling the side that won the English Premier League soccer title last season made the headlines, leaving Liverpool’s downward trend largely overlooked.

There will be no hiding place for Juergen Klopp’s side tomorrow, though, when they host Arsenal - even if the visitors also find themselves under the microscope.

Liverpool’s 2- 0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur on February 11 appeared to be a return to form for Klopp’s side. They’ve taken three points from the last 15 available and had suffered defeats against Swansea City and Hull City.

Klopp took his players to southern Spain after the Tottenham win, but rather than return refreshed for an assault on the top four, they went down with a whimper at Leicester. Liverpool remain in fifth place, but defeat by Arsenal would likely see them overtaken by an in-form Manchester United.

Victory, however, would take Liverpool above the north Londoners, and keeper Simon Mignolet believes the visit of Arsenal could help them get their season back on track.

“You can use criticism as some sort of energy to get yourselves back up again and push yourselves even further and harder, looking forward to the next opportunity,” he said.

“That’s what we have to do. It’s a new game (against Arsenal), a new 90 minutes to play, and this weekend it’ll be the only thing that matters. Fixtures (all 5pm unless otherwise stated)

Tomorrow: Manchester United v Bournemouth (2:30pm); Leicester City v Hull; Stoke City v Middlesbrough; Swansea v Burnley; Watford v Southampton; West Brom v Crystal Palace; Liverpool v Arsenal (7:30pm).

Sunday: Tottenham Hotspur v Everton (3:30pm); Sunderland v Manchester City (6pm). Monday: West Ham United v Chelsea (10pm). — Reuters