Preview: Southampton vs. Liverpool
Yesterday at 04:30 PM
Following dropped points in consecutive league games, the Reds look to qualify for the EFL Cup semi-finals.
Southampton vs Liverpool
| Wednesday, December 18th |
EFL Cup | St. Mary's Stadium
8PM BST / 3PM ET
Fresh off an impressive one player deficit fightback that nevertheless only ended in a single point on the weekend, Liverpool will have to manage injuries and fatigue as they look to ruin the honeymoon period of caretaker Southampton manager Simon Rusk in the League Cup quarter finals.
In the job less than 24 hours, the former Stockport County man will have his work cut out for him, as Soton currently sit dead last in the Premier League, having collected only five points in 16 games while accumulating a negative 25 goal differential.
The Saints put up a solid performance when the two sides faced off back in November, but were the architects of their own downfall, as defensive errors and an unnecessary penalty saw the hosts drop a home lead on the way to a 3-2 defeat.
Aaron Ramsdale could be in contention for a start tomorrow night, and top scorers Cameron Archer and Adam Armstrong will undoubtedly start, but Jack Stephens, Will Smallbone and Juan Larios will all miss out through suspension and injury, respectively.
Projected Liverpool Lineup (4-3-3)
Kelleher; Davidson, Quansah, Gomez, Tsimikas; Endo, Mac Allister, Elliott; Núñez, Jota, Chiesa
For the Reds, Caoimhin Kelleher will be back between the sticks, reclaiming his role as a domestic cup competition starter after deputising for Alisson Becker in the more coveted competitions during the Brazilian's injury absence.
The backline is a mess, though, with Andy Robertson serving a suspension, Conor Bradley and Ibrahima Konaté out injured, and Virgil van Dijk having played every single minute of every competition outside of this one. According to Arne Slot, we are likely to see some experimentation, either in the shape of youngsters getting a look, or first teamers playing out of position. Whether that means a debut for 19-year old Josh Davidson or Wataru Endo playing centre-back will remain a mystery for now. Starts for Jarell Quansah and Joe Gomez feel inevitable, while Kostas Tsimikas could make his return after missing the last six.
In midfield, Alexis Mac Allister returns after missing two week through domestic and European suspension and is nailed on to feature while Wataru Endo is likely to continue his run of starts in the competition. Harvey Elliott could also be in line to make the first XI after coming on as a substitute in consecutive matches. Tyler Morton is a dark horse.
Up top, Federico Chiesa is back in contention and might start if only to give Mohamed Salah a tiny morsel of rest, while Diogo Jota missed training on Monday and could prove a long shot. Darwin Núñez started on the bench against Fulham and should be in line for a start again tomorrow.
What the Managers Said
Arne Slot: "It's difficult what we can expect in terms of formation, in terms of personnel. But what we do know is that we have to play an away game against Southampton, against 11 players."
Simon Rusk: "We are working to prepare a game against one of the most in form teams in arguably the world or Europe. That speaks for itself. For me, I would ultimately like to focus on the process. If I become overly emotional in any aspect as a coach, I could start thinking and taking my eye off ball about what is the immediate task in hand."
The Officials
Referee: Simon Hooper
Assistant referees: Adrian Holmes, Simon Long
Fourth official: Josh Smith
Kickoff is set for 8PM GMT/3PM ET tomorrow, and television listings for the match can be found on LiveSoccerTV.
In the meantime, and as always, we'll be keeping you updated with all the buildup to the game, including team news as it's released, our live matchday thread, and post-match recaps from The Liverpool Offside staff. If you want to join the discussion, sign up for an SB Nation account to have your say on the action as it happens.
