After a two week hiatus, Liverpool will finally play host to Southampton this weekend and Klopp’s Redmen will be hoping to close the gap to Chelsea by securing a victory against Mauricio Pellegrino’s side.
Southampton go into this game after suffering a disappointing defeat at home to Burnley while the Reds of Merseyside look to have found some kind of form, on the back of their dazzling display against West Ham United.
Liverpool’s recent record against the Saints is surprising, to say the least. The Merseysiders have not tasted victory since their 6-1 triumph over the Saints in 2015. Since then, the Reds have lost three and drawn two matches against Southampton. Moreover, the last four matches between the two teams have just featured two goals.
Going by recent history and form, we can expect another tight contest with both teams trying to win by the odd goal.
4-3-3 Liverpool FC Predicted Lineup To Face Southampton
Defence
Simon Mignolet is likely to retain his place as Liverpool’s first choice goalkeeper. Joe Gomez will join the Belgian in the starting eleven after his man of the match display for England against Brazil on Tuesday night. Nathaniel Clyne remains on the sidelines.
Joel Matip and Alberto Moreno are also set to feature in this game.
But Klopp will have a major selection dilemma on whether to bring Dejan Lovren back into the squad or to stick with Ragnar Klavan as his primary centre-half.
The German manager might fancy using Klavan to tackle Southampton’s physical threats.
Midfield
Emre Can might get the nod ahead of Gini Wjinaldum due to the German’s superior physical attributes and defensive work rate. Captain Jordon Henderson might be in contention to come back into the starting eleven after he returned to training from a thigh injury.
Jurgen Klopp is likely to start with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain once again after he had a good game and scored against West Ham United.
Attack
The front three will feature Mohammad Salah, Roberto Firmino and Phillipe Coutinho. The Brazilian maestro comes back and replaces the injured Sadio Mane in the left flank which will improve Liverpool’ creativity in the final third.
Former Southampton forward, Sadio Mane might miss out with a hamstring problem following his withdrawal from Senegal’s squad during the international break.
On a positive note, Liverpool fans can welcome long-term absentee, Adam Lallana following his lengthy spell on the sidelines. A thigh problem has kept him out since pre-season and now the talented attacker might be involved against his old club. However, the English midfielder is not expected to play from the start.
