Jurgen Klopp has made two changes to his Liverpool starting lineup to take on Southampton, with Adam Lallana missing out.
Follow and discuss the match in our live match blog here
Lallana suffered a minor injury during the international break, with a scan on Thursday ruling him out of contention at St. Mary’s.
However, Philippe Coutinho has recovered from a similar problem, and has been passed fit to start.
Including Coutinho, Klopp has called upon a strong Liverpool lineup to take on the struggling Saints, who head into the clash 10th in the Premier League table, having taken 13 points from 11 games.
Loris Karius keeps his place in goal, with former Southampton duo Nathaniel Clyne and Dejan Lovren named in defence alongside Joel Matip and James Milner.
Lovren missed the Reds’ last outing, the 6-1 win at home to Watford, but has returned to replace Lucas Leiva, who drops back down to the substitutes’ bench.
In midfield, Jordan Henderson takes up his regular deep-lying role, with Emre Can and Georginio Wijnaldum operating in box-to-box duties in a likely 4-3-3.
This will be the first time Can and Wijnaldum start together in a competitive clash, following Lallana’s injury.
Joining Coutinho in Klopp’s attacking line are Roberto Firmino and another ex-Saint, Sadio Mane.
Mane is making his first outing at St. Mary’s since leaving for Merseyside in a £30 million deal in the summer, and having scored six goals in 10 league games so far this season, will be looking to continue his fine form.
Follow and discuss the match in our live match blog here
Southampton: Forster; Cedric, Fonte, Van Dijk, Bertrand; Romeu, Davis, Hojbjerg; Redmond, Boufal, Austin
Substitutes: Taylor, Yoshida, Martina, Clasie, Reed, Long, Rodriguez
Liverpool: Karius; Clyne, Matip, Lovren, Milner; Henderson, Wijnaldum, Can; Mane, Coutinho, Firmino
Substitutes: Mignolet, Lucas, Klavan, Moreno, Grujic, Sturridge, Origi
Fan Comments