Predicted Liverpool Line-up To Face Southampton In The Premier League
Premier League football is set to resume this weekend following a two-week international break and the Reds are set to host Southampton at Anfield in a Saturday afternoon encounter. Despite raiding their squad regularly, Liverpool have struggled to clinch results against the Saints in recent past and failed to win or even score any in either of their four meetings last season. Jurgen Klopp’s men would be determined to put the misery behind and roar once more following a 4-1 victory against West Ham United at London Stadium prior to the break.
Southampton, on the other hand, have had a slow start under new boss Mauricio Pellegrino and suffered a disappointing defeat against Burnley at St. Mary’s that eventually led them to slip to the 13th spot in the league table. They will be desperate to grab a favourable outcome and their recent history against the Merseysiders will make them confident of having one.
Liverpool’s summer row over Virgil Van Dijk will add more spice to this fixture and the atmosphere will be hostile for the visitors who managed to keep hold of their star Dutchman despite his eagerness to join the Reds and handing in a transfer request.
Team News
Liverpool have a significant injury boost due to the return of ex-Southampton midfielder Adam Lallana after recovering from a long-term thigh injury. Skipper Jordan Henderson missed the clash against the Hammers with a knock but has recovered fully and will be available for selection. Philippe Coutinho too will return from his muscle injury but Sadio Mane, however, suffered a minor hamstring strain and was sent back from his national duty. His situation is now being monitored closely and the Senegalese international will go through a late fitness test ahead of the weekend outing. Nathaniel Clyne remains the only significant injury absentee who is ruled out for further three months after undergoing a back surgery.
Probable Liverpool XI:
Formation: 4-3-3
Klopp has not experimented much with his 4-3-3 formation but made a late call against West Ham United and opted to field a 4-4-2 with Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah upfront. The formation, however, was switched to 4-2-4, 4-3-3 and even 3-5-2 at times and the flexibility helped the Reds to defend deep and break via counter attacks. But with Coutinho’s return, the German tactician is expected to field a 4-3-3 formation against the Saints. However, there could be flexibility and change of shapes which worked out sensationally against the Hammers.
Manager: Jurgen Klopp
Simon Mignolet (GK)
The Belgian captained the Reds against West Ham due to Henderson’s unavailability and is set to retain his place between the sticks against Southampton.
Joe Gomez (RB)
Gomez had an erroneous second half against the Hammers and his mistake allowed Manuel Lanzini to pull one back. He looked vulnerable on several occasions but a senior international call-up and Tuesday’s ‘Man of the Match’ display against Brazil would have uplifted his spirit. The Englishman should now be raring to go against the Saints.
Joel Matip (CB)
Matip has been regular in Liverpool’s central defence and will retain his place in their backline.
Dejan Lovren (CB)
Klopp will be in a quandary on whether to bring Dejan Lovren back in deep defence, who had a shambolic display against Spurs before being taken off early. Ragnar Klavan had three decent outings against Huddersfield Town, NK Maribor, and West Ham United while Lovren was allegedly out injured before making a late return in their trip to London Stadium. He was introduced in the closing minutes against the Hammers and might be handed another lifeline here. This is probably one last chance to resurrect his Liverpool career.
Alberto Moreno (LB)
The Spaniard was on verge of a summer exit but has re-established his Liverpool career and earned international call-up from Julen Lopetegui. He should be preferred over Andrew Robertson once again and feature this weekend.
Jordan Henderson (CDM)
Klopp made an attacking switch against the Irons and brought in Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain as Henderson’s replacement. Although the Ox had an impressive outing and scored a crucial goal en route to a 4-1 triumph, he is expected to be benched against his boyhood side and Henderson should return in a deeper midfield role.
Emre Can (CM)
Can looks set for a summer exit after failing to agree to new contract terms with his current employers. But Klopp has decided to utilise the German fully as long as he is at Liverpool and the midfielder is a favourite to earn a start against Saturday’s opponents.
Georginio Wijnaldum (CM)
The Dutchman had a decent outing against the Hammers and is expected to retain his place in the middle of the park.
Mohamed Salah (RW)
The Egyptian superstar has been a revolution in Liverpool attack so far and has already netted 12 goals in 17 outings for his new employers. He will be in charge of the Reds’ attack once more down the right flank and Klopp will be banking on him to break a resilient Saints backline consisting of Virgil Van Dijk.
Roberto Firmino (CF)
The Brazilian should retain his place up front as the centre-forward and his high work ethics will be crucial against the Saints who will sit back, defend deep and wait for counter-attacking chances.
Philippe Coutinho (LW)
The Brazilian should operate down the left flank in place of Sadio Mane who remains a major doubt after sustaining hamstring strain during the international break. Coutinho holds great scoring record against the Saints and his long-range efforts might be a determining factor in such a tight fixture.
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