Lucas: Anfield’s scarier than ever

Anfield is already regarded as one of the iconic and daunting venues in world football but after a ground extension this summer, Brazilian midfielder Lucas Leiva is predicting an increased difficulty for visiting sides.

An extra 8,500 seats have been added to take the total capacity of Anfield to around 54,000, and Lucas cannot wait to experience the impact this weekend.

Liverpool have yet to play a home fixture this season in the Premier League but welcome defending champions Leicester City this Saturday as Anfield prepares to unveil its latest stadium redevelopment.

Liverpool are unbeaten in their last 13 home matches in all competitions and Lucas believes such form is crucial if the club are to challenge for silverware this season.

(John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

“I’m excited to see the new Anfield. I think the fans are really looking forward to it and the atmosphere will be the same as always – very good, but with many more thousands it’ll probably be louder,” he said.

“I’m really looking forward to it and hopefully it’ll be the beginning of a good journey in the new stadium.

“Every year, the teams that have a very good record at home challenge for titles and the top four, so it’s very important that we do that this year – starting with the first game.

“It [beating Leicester] would give us confidence to go away from home against Chelsea and try to get the three points. We just need to focus and work hard and with the quality we have; I think we can do it.”