Leicester v Liverpool LIVE: Trent Alexander-Arnold condemns Leicester to the drop as Liverpool eye title
Leicester 0-1 Liverpool: Trent Alexander-Arnold fires Arne Slot’s Reds to within one win of the Premier League title
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The battle for the Premier League title has looked like a procession rather than a race for some time now, but Liverpool moved a step closer to making it a mathematical certainty today by beating strugglers Leicester.
It was local boy Trent Alexander-Arnold who secured the win, coming off the bench to score in the 75th minute, in his first appearance since an injury sustained in early March.
The right-back made his 350th appearance in a Liverpool shirt count amid feverish speculation over his potential departure to Real Madrid, scoring his first left-footed goal in his entire career and immediately charging over to the travelling fans to celebrate.
Leicester meanwhile frustrated Liverpool for long periods and even had a Conor Coady goal ruled out for a foul by Patson Daka on Reds keeper Alisson Becker in the build-up, but were ultimately second-best and were condemned to the drop at the final whistle, their second relegation in three seasons.
Arne Slot’s side are now just three points away from lifting the trophy, although second-placed Arsenal’s earlier win over Ipswich meant the Reds couldn’t seal the title this afternoon.
Relieve all of the action from the Premier League clash in our live blog below:
Team news
Quick reminder of the line-ups today...
Leicester XI: Hermansen, Ricardo, Faes, Coady, Thomas, Ndidi, Soumare, El Khannouss, De Cordova-Reid, Mavididi, Vardy
Substitutes: Stolarczyk, Justin, Kristiansen, Okoli, Skipp, Buonanotte, Monga, Ayew, Daka
Liverpool XI: Alisson, Van Dijk, Konate, Diaz, Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Salah, Gakpo, Tsimikas, Gravenberch, Bradley
Substitutes: Kelleher, Endo, Nunez, Jones, Elliott, Jota, Robertson, Alexander-Arnold, Quansah
Ten minutes to go
Nearly time for kickoff at the King Power Stadium.
Can Liverpool seal just their second league title in 35 years today, or will the wait go on? Can Leicester postpone the inevitable?
Crunch time at the King Power
A day that could seal the fate of one team. Not Liverpool, with Arsenal's win over Ipswich meaning they cannot win the title until Wednesday at the earliest, but Leicester, who could be relegated. Their form under Ruud van Nistelrooy suggests they will be today, despite getting a point at Brighton last week. Arne Slot brings in Cody Gakpo, who played for Van Nistelrooy at PSV Eindhoven, in place of Diogo Jota.
How the table looks
The hosts are 19th, a huge 18 points off 17th-placed Wolves with six games to play.
Liverpool are top, ten points ahead of Arsenal with six games to play (five for the Gunners) and needing just six more points to seal the title.
Full-time in Ipswich
Arsenal thrashed Ipswich 4-0, moving them to ten points behind Liverpool in the table, so there will be no title parade today.
Blue skies at the King Power
How it stands
With Ipswich vs Arsenal at just over the hour mark, the Gunners are 2-0 up and cruising against the 10-man Tractor Boys.
Barring a total collapse, Arsenal will prevent Liverpool from officially claiming the title today as they’ll move up to ten points behind the Reds.
Ipswich v Arsenal LIVE: Premier League score and updates
Team news - Liverpool
The big news for Liverpool is that Trent Alexander-Arnold, absent since 11 March with an ankle injury, is back on the bench.
Darwin Nunez is also on the bench after illness, while Cody Gakpo and Dominik Szoboszlai swap into the starting XI, replacing Curtis Jones and Diogo Jota following their win over West Ham.
Team news - Leicester
Wout Faes returns from injury as expected to start in defence, while 15-year-old midfielder Jeremy Monga also returns after injury.
Victor Kristiansen and Facundo Buonanotte, the latter unavailable to face parent club Brighton last weekend, are also both back on the bench.
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