Liverpool will lock horns with Southampton at the St. Mary’s Stadium on Monday night as they look to kick off the new year with a victory in the Premier League. Both teams were held to a scoreless draw earlier this week, so we can expect them to go all out for the three points in this upcoming showdown at the south coast of England.
Talking Tactics
Ralph Hasenhüttl will set his team up in a 4-2-2-2 formation and is expected to make a few tweaks to his side for this home encounter versus the Merseyside outfit. The Saints boss will ask his players to press high up the field so that they can win the ball and expose the opposition’s defensive weaknesses on the counter.
Jurgen Klopp will probably stick with his favoured 4-3-3 formation and will make one change to his first-team on Monday. The German head coach will demand a positive response from his players as they have been lacklustre in front of goal in recent matches. Liverpool’s front three of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah will once again carry most of the goal-scoring workload up top.
Team News
Southampton
Nathan Redmond is unlikely to recover in time for this game. Otherwise, Hasenhüttl does not have any fresh injury concerns to cope with heading into this clash at home.
Southampton Predicted XI
McCarthy, Walker-Peters, Stephens, Bednarek, Bertrand, Ward-Prowse, Romeu, Armstrong, Walcott, Ings, Adams
Liverpool
Naby Keita is a significant concern for this game, but Klopp is unlikely to risk him on Monday. On a positive note, Thiago Alcantara came on to feature as a substitute in midweek and should be ready to play a more prominent role in this match against the Saints if required.
Liverpool Predicted XI
Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Phillips, Fabinho, Robertson, Henderson, Wijnaldum, Jones, Salah, Firmino, Mane
Key Men
Southampton
Danny Ings will once again be Southampton’s best hope for a goal. He will be eager to score against his old club. James Ward-Prowse could also pose a threat from dead-ball situations in the final third. At the other end, the defensive performance of Jan Bednarek and Jack Stephens could very well end up determining the fate of this contest.
Liverpool
Mohamed Salah is currently leading the Premier League goal-scoring charts with 13 league goals to his name. The Egyptian winger missed a whole host of chances to find the back of the net in midweek, so this match away at Southampton could be a perfect chance for him to return to his goal-scoring ways.
Both Fabinho and Nathaniel Phillips will also need to have a good game if the Reds are to come out on top on Monday night.
Odds
The Reds are 11/17 favourites to win this game while the draw has been listed at 13/4 by the bookmakers. The Saints are 15/4 underdogs to emerge victorious at the St. Mary’s Stadium.
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