Liverpool are sitting at the top of the Premier League table and they will look to consolidate their position further as they prepare themselves to face Southampton at the St Mary’s Stadium on Sunday.
Thanks to Manchester City’s sudden dip in form, Liverpool have opened up a five-point gap at the top of the table and by the end of this weekend, the Anfield outfit might have an eight-point lead, based on how City perform against Tottenham Hotspur. Next weekend Liverpool are scheduled to take on Man City so if City drop points vs Spurs, Slot’s team could be in for a treat.
The Saints are sitting at the bottom of the league table with just one win out of their first 11 league matches and Liverpool have won 11 of their last 13 matches against Southampton across all competitions. This one should be an easy and regulation win for Arne Slot’s side and the manager’s primary focus will be their Champions League encounter against Real Madrid next week.
Liverpool’s team news and injury updates:
Virgil van Dijk was released early by the Netherlands which immediately hinted at a possible injury but Arne Slot has made it clear that the defender is fully fit.
Van Dijk is the only positive news from the injury list because apart from him, all the other injured players will be unavailable. Chiesa, Trent, Jota and Harvey Elliot are all slowly coming back into the fold while Alisson Becker remains a long-term absentee.
The manager said in his press conference: “[Alisson] is back in training with the goalkeeper coach. He is not training with the team yet, but that is expected to be done soon, and then let’s wait and see where he is in terms of match fitness.
“Trent isn’t training with us yet, but he is getting there so we expect him to be back with us soon. Jota is still apart from the group, same as Federico, who is coming back into the session maybe in one exercise today.”
Arne Slot’s first XI selection should be straightforward on Sunday and if his team secures an early lead, he will likely rotate his squad to avoid any unnecessary injuries ahead of the crucial matches against Madrid and Manchester City.
Liverpool’s last defeat came in September, a narrow 1-0 loss to Nottingham Forest and unless Southampton delivers an extraordinary performance on Sunday, the result at St Mary’s Stadium seems destined to go only one way.
Liverpool predicted lineup vs Southampton:
Goalkeeper: Kelleher.
Defenders: Bradley, Konate, Van Dijk, Tsimikas.
Midfielders: Mac Allister, Gravenberch, Curtis Jones.
Attackers: Mo Salah, Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez.
