Ronald Koeman will return to his former club Southampton on Saturday with his new side Everton. The Dutchman spent two seasons at St. Mary’s and the Saints will be ever grateful to the experienced gaffer for the work he did at the South Coast club. Southampton finished seventh and sixth respectively in his two seasons as the manager. They are in the Europa League for the first time in their history this season and despite Koeman leaving his post a bit controversially, the Saints have done well of late.
Ronald Koeman’s stint at Everton started pretty well but in recent weeks, the Toffees have flattered to deceive. Everton have won just one of their last six games. They were held to a 1-1 draw by bottom of the table Swansea City last week after getting thrashed by Chelsea in the previous game.
Southampton, on the other hand, are experiencing an up and down season until this point. They are sitting 11th in the table, 4 places and 5 points behind Everton.
Southampton had a pretty good result last weekend as they could stop high-flying Liverpool but their loss to Sparta Prague in the Europa League has put them in danger of not qualifying for the knockout stage. Here is the predicted Southampton lineup against Liverpool.
Defence
Fraser Forster will keep his place under the bar. Cedric Soares had an excellent game against Liverpool last week and is an undisputed starter at right-back. Virgil van Dijk was the standout player for the Saints against Liverpool last weekend and will be a key player against Everton.
The Dutch international is likely to be partnered by Jose Fonte at the heart of the defence. Fonte has a minor injury but should be able to make it in time. We expect Ryan Bertrand to make a comeback into the starting XI in place of youngster Sam McQueen.
