Leicester City and Liverpool will no doubt get a sense of déjà vu on Saturday evening when the Premier League rivals meet for the second time in the space of a few days for their league clash.
Whilst both sides rested key players on Tuesday night, Craig Shakespeare and Jurgen Klopp will return to full-strength as both managers look for three points after their respective winless runs.
And there’s little doubt about where the key battle will lie at the King Power on Saturday, with Leicester’s Jamie Vardy and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah both starting the new season in fine fashion.
But which of the duo is worthier of a Draft Fantasy pick ahead of the weekend?
For the hosts, Vardy has seemingly picked up the sort of form that saw him announce himself in Premier League football during Leicester’s 2015-16 title-winning campaign, scoring four times in the opening five matches and displaying the pace, guile and direct threat that makes him such an asset.
Whilst for the visitors, Salah has put his woeful spell at Chelsea behind him and made a name for himself for the right reasons so far on his return, scoring three times and assisting twice in Liverpool’s five games.
This is perhaps where the biggest difference lies between the duo, though, with the Egyptian international more likely to threaten the assist charts than Vardy due to his position hugging the touchlines.
In the continued absence of Sadio Mane – serving the final match of his suspension – there will be more pressure on Salah’s shoulders to find the net again like he did against Burnley last weekend.
On that occasion he was given the licence to roam around the area in a more central position, looking to find a breakthrough, and although it’s unlikely that he’ll be afforded as many chances in front of goal at the King Power this weekend he will still be Liverpool’s most dangerous threat.
By contrast, Vardy is a player who more often than not creates his own chances in the final third, working hard and running with intent at the opposition to try and make things happen for his side.
Whilst it’s important to note that two of his four goals this season have come from the penalty spot, up against a notoriously weak Liverpool back-four he could have a field-day and easily score a couple.
The England striker will arrive at the King Power on Saturday with an excellent recent record against Liverpool, scoring five in his last three games against them – and yes, including that goal – so he will no doubt be confident about exploiting a side that have only kept two clean sheets in eight matches in all competitions.
The statistics so far this season firmly weigh in Salah’s favour, though, having 18 shots to Vardy’s six and creating six chances to the Leicester man’s three, and with Klopp’s side desperately needing a win to get their Premier League campaign back on track it is likely he could be the difference on Saturday.
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