Liverpool hosts Southampton in their final Premier League encounter before the World Cup on Saturday at Anfield.
On Wednesday evening, a largely rotated Reds team defeated Derby County in a penalty shootout to go to the fourth round of the EFL Cup. They broke a two-game losing streak in the Premier League last weekend, defeating Tottenham 2-1 in north London, but Jurgen Klopp’s side is presently eighth in the table, seven points below the top four.
The Merseysiders will be hopeful of ending their three-game winning streak in all formats with a home victory over Southampton.
Liverpool Team News
Joel Matip is seemingly back in contention having returned to first-team training but might not be risked by Jurgen Klopp tomorrow. James Milner is back after serving a period out due to concussion protocols.
Naby Keita and Luis Diaz are running again but will not feature anytime soon.
Meanwhile, Diogo Jota and Arthur Melo are out until after the World Cup along with the duo mentioned above.
Liverpool lineup vs Southampton (4-4-2)
Alisson Becker will return in goal on Saturday after backup goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher turned Liverpool’s saviour from the spot in the Carabao Cup penalty shootout win over Derby County.
Jurgen Klopp will pick the back four that starred in the win over Tottenham last weekend, i.e. Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ibrahima Konate, Virgil van Dijk and Andrew Robertson.
Alexander-Arnold and Robertson will operate from the right-back and left-back positions, respectively, while Van Dijk and Konate will feature in central defence in the Liverpool lineup.
James Milner, Joe Gomez, Calvin Ramsay and Kostas Tsimikas will offer cover from the bench in defensive positions.
Midfield
The Liverpool boss is expected to stick to a 4-4-2 diamond formation that he used against Tottenham, which will see Fabinho play the role of an anchor in midfield in the Liverpool lineup. With Fabinho at the base, Thiago Alcantara and Harvey Elliot must bring creativity, energy and flair from their advanced midfield role.
Roberto Firmino must start at the tip of the diamond in the Liverpool lineup, looking to drop deeper at times, link play and create opportunities for the forwards in the box.
Jordan Henderson, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Curtis Jones will be options on the bench against the Saints.
Attack
Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah have shown signs of building a partnership upfront for Liverpool. Against a Southampton side that is leaking goals at an alarming rate, Nunez and Salah both will be looking to combine well and get themselves on the scoresheet.
Young Fabio Carvalho could come on in the second half, along with Curtis Jones, to influence the game
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