After a shock defeat at the hands of Hull City which made it two consecutive Premier League defeats for the Saints, they will be looking to get their season running when they face Liverpool this week. This will be more than just a game for Southampton, who have been time and again raided for their talented players by Liverpool in the past.
Although Liverpool are in supreme goal-scoring form at the moment as compared to Southampton’s below par performance in the league, the Saints will look to repeat their 3-2 winning performance over Liverpool in March last season.
Southampton have been a mixed blend of poor and good performances this season. In their last 3 games, they have lost to Chelsea and Hull City but have also defeated Inter Milan in the Europa League. Hull looked like a cakewalk for the Saints but they faltered.
Defence
Claude Puel has shown that he is a master of the art when it comes to rotating his squad as his team have played well in the Europa League. Now with a number of injury returns this week, Puel will hopefully have to sweat less against Liverpool.
Fraser Forster will keep his place under the bar although new recruit Alex McCarthy is set to return from injury. Cedric Soares is still a doubt and will go last minute fitness test. Cuco Martina will get to have an extended run at right-back after Maya Yoshida could not do much against Hull.
Southampton were defensively poor against Hull City in the weekend but Puel does not seem to have a better option than the centre-back pairing of Virgil van Dijk and Jose Fonte. We expect Ryan Bertrand to start in the left back position considering Targett will not be rushed against Liverpool.
Midfield
The midfield is expected to be same with ever-dependent Oriol Romeu at the base. The anchorman has shown glimpses of a matured midfielder at times providing the perfect balance between the defence and attack.
James Ward-Prowse is also expected to take his position in the midfield with Steven Davis. The midfield of Southampton is a very compact one and with players like Pierre-Emile Højbjerg on the bench, it is capable of producing enough threat for Liverpool.
Attack
Dusan Tadic has been brilliant this season and Puel is expected to keep him on the right wing. Tadic has created 25 chances in the league this season on the level with David Silva. Nathan Redmond will keep his place on the left.
Charlie Austin has been in a magnificent form this season scoring 8 goals all competition. The big news is Shane Long could be returning for the Saints and if not in the starting 11, he could make an appearance from the bench.
