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As fans across the world celebrate Christmas, Liverpool players are gearing up for another serious test in the Premier League.
Part of the trade-off for being a top-level, highly-paid footballer in England is that you regularly have to play on Boxing Day, while family and friends are sleeping off the turkey from the the day before.
Thankfully, Liverpool tend to be pretty good at putting the festivities to one side and getting the job done on the bank holiday.
And as Liverpool prepare to face Leicester City at Anfield on Thursday evening, we take a look back at the Reds’ last five Boxing Day results in the Premier League.
Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images
The Reds travelled to Burnley last Boxing Day still blissfully ignorant of the idea that they’d be playing under a new Liverpool manager in a few short months.
With Liverpool looking good for a title challenge, Jurgen Klopp was still one month away from his announcement which shook the football world.
This was a trickier test than it maybe ought to have been at Turf Moor, with Vincent Kompany’s side destined for the drop.
A lovely early goal from Darwin Nunez settled any Liverpool nerves before Diogo Jota struck late on after coming back from injury.
Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images
You have to go back a further three years for Liverpool’s next Boxing Day fixture, and this one is without doubt the most famous of recent times.
Leicester were sitting second heading into the match, and although Liverpool were starting to run away with the Premier League, there was a feeling that if the Foxes could get a result here, they’d kick on to challenge Klopp’s side.
In the end, the opposite happened.
Liverpool pummelled Leicester 4-0 at the King Power Stadium to send a real message in the 8pm kick-off.
Trent Alexander-Arnold ran the show, scoring a lovely goal and assisting two for Roberto Firmino.
A James Milner penalty rounded off the scoring as the Reds hit three in seven second-half minutes and sent themselves on the way to title glory.
With another evening fixture against the Foxes to come this year around and Liverpool pushing for the league again, are the omens starting to align?
Liverpool’s most recent home Boxing Day fixture game came six years ago when the Reds thrashed Newcastle at home.
The match was notable for seeing the first Liverpool goal for Fabinho, who headed home the final strike of the day.
Before then, Dejan Lovren had thundered in a Kop end strike after just 11 minutes, before second-half goals from Mohamed Salah and then Xherdan Shaqiri rounded off the scoring.
Going back a year further, and there was another big festive result for Liverpool supporters to enjoy.
Kicking off at 5.30pm under the lights at Anfield, Swansea were no match for a rampant Reds side.
As they often seem to on this day, Liverpool started quickly.
Only six minutes were on the clock when Philippe Coutinho swept in a lovely effort which would be his final goal in a Liverpool shirt.
Two for Firmino and a first-ever Premier League goal for Alexander-Arnold put the Reds out of sight before Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain lofted in a fifth.
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