Leicester City’s Brendan Rodgers returns to Anfield – the last thing Liverpool need is to face a manager with point to prove

Liverpool appeared to be Brendan Rodgers’ shot at the big time. The Northern Irishman was close to being an Anfield legend. Seven years ago he came within two games of breaking the long title drought but his team fell apart in the final week of the season.

If Rodgers had pulled off that feat there would probably be a stature of him outside the Kop and Jurgen Klopp might have gone elsewhere. Instead, he is not remembered with much affection.

When he was sacked and replaced by Klopp in 2015 it looked like the former Swansea City manager’s career had peaked. The 48-year-old rehabilitated his prospects with a successful spell at Celtic and now presides over Leicester City, who host injury-hit Liverpool on Saturday at the King Power Stadium.

Leicester, third in the Premier League table, are handily positioned to qualify for the Champions League. Klopp’s team are a place below and three points behind. A home victory would give Rodgers satisfaction on many levels. He is young and ambitious enough to want another chance at a club whose stature rivals Liverpool’s.

Rodgers has not fared well against his old team in the three times he has faced them since taking over the Foxes. Liverpool have won each time with a goal difference of 9-1. Leicester will never have a better opportunity to change that trend.

January was bad for Klopp’s team but February has been grim. The thought of losing three successive games to open the month is unthinkable, especially with the Champions League knockout round first leg against RB Leipzig in Budapest and the derby against Everton looming in the week following. The last thing Liverpool need is to face a former manager with a point to prove. Rodgers can send the defending champions into a deeper spiral.

There are not many left in Klopp’s squad who played under Rodgers but Jordan Henderson will remember his former boss well. The Liverpool captain was just 22 when Rodgers tried to swap him for Fulham’s Clint Dempsey. Henderson admitted he cried at the thought of leaving Anfield. The youngster dug in his heels and refused to depart, despite a difficult few months knowing the manager did not believe in him.

John W Henry, Liverpool’s principal owner, did not like the proposed deal with Fulham but not because of any particular regard for Henderson. Fenway Sports Group (FSG) wanted to sign younger players and Dempsey was 28.

FSG had as little respect for the future captain as did Rodgers but the manager’s view of the player reinforced the owners’ antipathy towards Henderson. Ironically, the manager came to value Henderson’s contribution but FSG were dismissive of his abilities until well into the Klopp era.

If Rodgers had got his way in August 2012, Henderson would have been recalled as an Anfield failure instead of the man who lifted the title after a 30-year gap. One thing is certain: the captain will fight tooth and nail to stop his former boss getting a result at the King Power.

The manager’s shenanigans in his first transfer window set the pattern for his relationship with FSG. He shipped Andy Carroll out to West Ham United on loan before finding a replacement, in express disobedience of Henry’s instructions. Two years later Rodgers could have had Mohamed Salah in his team. The Northern Irishman’s behaviour around that potential deal further enraged the owners.

Rodgers was lukewarm – to say the least – about the possibility of signing Salah from Basel and set a low valuation on the Egyptian. When Chelsea gazumped Liverpool, he moaned in public about the failure to bring in the forward. An internal communication summed up FSG’s feelings. “Pay too much for a target and [Rodgers] complains we used too much of the budget on a player he didn’t think was worth it,” it said. “Pay too little and lose the deal, and he complains that we aren’t big enough to compete.” The missive ended brutally: “I’m fighting the urge to call him and tear him a new a******.”

If Leicester win, there will be much teeth-gnashing in New England, and not just because of the three lost points.

None of this will be of any concern to Klopp. Liverpool’s slump has coincided with the death of his mother Elisabeth, making it a difficult time personally and professionally for the 53-year-old. Because of Covid-19 travel restrictions he was unable to go home to Germany for the funeral.

Football, despite Bill Shankly’s flippant catchphrase, is not more important than life and death but Klopp, despite being deeply upset, will apply the same level of professionalism to the game as at any other time. He will need to.

The last time the teams met, at Anfield in November, Liverpool’s injury crisis was building. Three of the first-choice back four were sidelined – in those happy days Joel Matip and Fabinho were considered an emergency centre-back pairing – and Henderson and Salah were absent. The home side romped to a 3-0 victory.

Rodgers felt that his team were not aggressive enough pressing their opponents. Leicester let Liverpool get comfortable on the ball in their own half and then pass with pace as soon as they got into enemy territory. Klopp can expect a more dynamic approach at the King Power.

Beating his former club would be another landmark on Rodgers’ route back to the top. Nothing would please the Leicester manager more than getting one over on his previous employers. There are plenty of people still around Anfield who are desperate to ensure that this does not happen.