Defence:
Liverpool’s back four has been pretty ordinary, leaking goals quite too often and will come under huge scrutiny from Southampton’s attacking prowess. Glen Johnson who returned to the starting lineup last week should retain his starting place after a decent performance against the Swans, while Jon Flanagan who is continued to grow in stature should start from the left back slot. Daniel Agger must occupy the defensive role alongside Martin Skrtel who despite his poor outing last week should keep his place ahead of Kolo Toure in the heart of back four as the Danish-Slovak partnership will look to muster up a clean sheet or keep mistakes at bay, if the Reds are to get anything from this encounter.
Midfield:
Jordan Henderson comes into this fixture on the back of his best match in a Liverpool shirt and with the Swansea game under his belt, the youngster will be more confident as ever. Alongside the twenty three year old will be the calming influence of Captain Steven Gerrard, who has matured and developed in his new defensive midfield role. Philippe Coutinho will be starting from the left again as Raheem Sterling playing wide right to provide width on the pitch. The Englishman has been brilliant in the past few games using his scorching pace to turn defenders inside out. While the Brazilian will make forays in the middle of the park, he will eventually link up time and again with the two strikers up front to rattle the Saints defensive discipline.