Liverpool's recent 2-1 win over West Ham extended their unbeaten league run at Anfield to 63 matches, consisting of 52 wins and 11 draws. Jurgen Klopp's men have a long way to go to surpass Chelsea's top flight record of 86 league matches undefeated at home between March 2004-October 2008. But avoid defeat against Leicester on November 22, and the German will have broken a 40-year old club record in the league.
Between January 1978 and January 1981, Bob Paisley's Liverpool went 85 matches in all competitions without tasting defeat at Anfield. 63 league matches (W50 D13), six FA Cup, nine League Cup, six European Cup fixtures and a solitary European Super Cup match had seen teams from England, Scotland, Portugal, West Germany, Belgium and the USSR attempt and fail to win at Fortress Anfield.
Some of Liverpool's performances demonstrated their dominance. A 7-0 hammering of Tottenham in 1978/79; 5-0 and 6-0 wins over Derby and Norwich respectively in the same season; just four league goals conceded during the 1978/79 campaign and eight the following season; a 10-1 annihilation of Finnish champions Oulun PS.
If you were going to invest a hard-earned pound note on a team ending Liverpool's run then you would have probably avoided Leicester's trip to Anfield on January 31, 1981. Sitting bottom of Division One, Jock Wallace's team had only won six league matches all season, with their only away victories coming at Birmingham City and Leeds United.
They could at least point to some success against Liverpool. Leicester's first win of the season came unexpectedly against the defending champions, a 2-0 win in front of 28,455 at Filbert Street providing optimism for the rest of the campaign. Yet the hope would soon evaporate as the 1980/81 season progressed.
Two 5-0 thrashings suffered at Manchester United and Nottingham Forest in September gave an indication that it would be a tough season for Leicester, and a 4-0 reverse at Southampton at the end of the year continued the pattern.
The week leading up to Leicester's Anfield visit was far from ideal in terms of preparing for the daunting task ahead. Losing 3-1 in an FA Cup fourth round replay at Division Three Exeter City, Leicester had also gone five league matches without a goal. Damage limitation appeared to be the main aim.
However, it wasn't all doom and gloom for Leicester. Liverpool had exited the FA Cup to rivals Everton a week before, and injuries were having an impact on Paisley's squad. Without Alan Kennedy, Alan Hansen, David Fairclough and Kenny Dalglish, Liverpool's resources were being stretched.
"People are expecting us to take our false teeth out and yet still chew the food properly," Paisley commented. Even so, he could still call upon Steve Heighway and David Johnson to step into the first team, with Avi Cohen and Colin Irwin filling in at the back. In third place, two points behind both Ipswich and Aston Villa, the expected home win would at least keep Liverpool in touch at the top.
Although Leicester started brightly, the fragile confidence of Wallace's young team was fully tested when they fell behind after 15 minutes. Forward Alan Young, attempting to help out defensively, only succeeded in heading past keeper Mark Wallington. Liverpool smelt blood.
Heighway missed a guilt-edged chance from eight yards, as Liverpool gradually turned the screw. Forcing ten corners, it seemed inevitable that a second goal would follow. But as the second half commenced, Leicester gained a foothold, with Kevin MacDonald, Pat Byrne, Andy Peake and Ian Wilson dominating the midfield battle. Leicester started to believe.
MacDonald and Byrne tested Ray Clemence before Leicester equalised in front of the Kop. A Clemence error on the hour mark saw the usually reliable keeper drop a Paul Friar cross at the feet of Byrne who rolled the ball into an empty net. A stuttering Liverpool were seemingly paying the price for taking their foot off the pedal.
Young and strike partner Jim Melrose continued to buzz around, causing Liverpool's defence problems all afternoon. Melrose missed opportunities, before making amends with 15 minutes remaining. Robbing the ball from Irwin on the edge of the box, Melrose fired past Clemence to stun the 35,154 inside Anfield.
Unable to build any momentum, Liverpool could not find a response, as the unthinkable started to become a reality. On the final whistle, the home crowd applauded Leicester's heroes off the pitch. It may have put a huge dent in Liverpool's title bid, but their fans were happy enough to give credit where it was deserved.
"Our defeat was a good example of complacency," Paisley admitted afterwards. "I only hope it gets through to our players that in football there are no certainties, only uncertainties." Paisley may have had a point. Despite the injuries, you could excuse Liverpool's players and supporters for dismissing the threat of a team that was bottom of the league and had just lost to Exeter.
Somehow, Wallace's youngsters halted the Liverpool record. "When I saw Leicester's team in our players' lounge after the match, I thought: 'God, they look like small boys. How could lads like that have beaten us?" Liverpool midfielder Ray Kennedy revealed. It adds to the remarkable nature of the upset that Leicester fielded such an inexperienced set of players at Anfield.
The average age of the team was just above 22, boosted by Wallington's relative advanced 28 years. Friar was 17, Peake 19, MacDonald 20, with Larry May, John O'Neill, Melrose and Wilson all 22. When Byrne (24) was replaced by 20-year-old Mark Goodwin, the youthful presence grew. "They played more like old professionals," Leslie Duxbury wrote in the Observer. "Relentlessly chipping away at Liverpool in attack and midfield and standing like a prison wall in defence."
"I shall tell my players they can now compete with the best - and they will believe it," Wallace said, after Leicester had become the first club to complete the double over Liverpool since Arsenal achieved the feat in the 1974/75 season. Could the win at Liverpool install a belief into the Leicester squad that relegation could be avoided?
Ultimately the wins over Liverpool did not prevent Leicester going down. Only four defeats in 14 matches post-Anfield highlighted that Wallace's boys were adapting to life in Division One. But the poor start to the season cost them dearly.
A week after their Anfield loss, Liverpool lost at West Brom and the title race developed into a straight fight between Aston Villa and Ipswich. Yet despite the questions regarding the strength of Paisley's squad, the club managed to end the season with a first League Cup and their third European Cup. Paisley was faced with a rebuilding task; winning two trophies in a transitional season was very Liverpool.
Can Brendan Rodgers 2020 vintage repeat the accomplishment of the boys of '81 and end Liverpool's unbeaten league run at Anfield at 63 matches? Currently top of the table and fresh from wins at Manchester City and Arsenal, the current team will definitely not be lacking in confidence. One thing is certain: if Leicester do win at Anfield on November 22, it will not be a coupon buster like it was in 1981.
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