Liverpool vs. Southampton: Team News, Predicted Lineups, Live Stream, TV Info
All eyes will be on Jurgen Klopp once more as he leads his Liverpool side out for his first Premier League clash at Anfield, having secured draws against Tottenham Hotspur and Rubin Kazan in his two games in charge of the Reds to date.
But while focus will be on the German and his fledgling outfit on Sunday afternoon, perhaps the side more deserving of attention are their opponents, with Ronald Koeman's Southampton representing one of the in-form sides in the English top flight.
After recovering from a slow start to the season, Koeman has steadied the ship on the south coast, with the Saints level on points with Liverpool—having scored seven more goals.
Sunday gives both managers the opportunity to gain an advantage in the race for a top-six finish this season, with Koeman boasting genuine aspirations for European qualification for the second season running—Southampton finished seventh in last season's Premier League, qualifying for the preliminary stages of the UEFA Europa League before crashing out in the first playoff round to FC Midtjylland.
Can Klopp secure his first victory as Reds manager, or will Koeman and Co. continue their rise with a win on Sunday?
Date: Sunday, 24 October, 2015
Time: 16:15 p.m GMT / 12.15 p.m. ET
Venue: Anfield, Liverpool, England
TV Info: Sky Sports 1 (UK) / NBC (U.S.)
Live Stream: Sky Go (UK) / NBC Sports Live Extra (U.S.)
Form Lines
Liverpool: WDDDD
Southampton: LWWWD
Team News
After his start to life on Merseyside was hit with significant injury blows to Joe Gomez and Danny Ings, Klopp revealed another ongoing fitness issue for striker Daniel Sturridge during his pre-match press conference on Friday.
Sturridge has missed both of Klopp's first two games as manager so far, and Klopp claims he could well sit out once again against Southampton, as relayed by This is Anfield: "I spoke a few minutes ago with him, it’s not much better. With Daniel’s injury we have to see day by day. If he can train tomorrow completely normal, then he is an option. Not as a starter, but he is an option. But I have to wait for this."
If Sturridge is deemed unfit to feature, he will join Gomez, Ings, Jordan Henderson and Jon Flanagan as absentees.
The 48-year-old will, however, be hoping to welcome both Christian Benteke and Roberto Firmino to his starting lineup, as the big-money pair returned to the fold in Thursday night's 1-1 draw with Rubin Kazan in the Europa League.
Joao Carlos Teixeira and Jose Enrique are both available again, after being ineligible for selection against Rubin.
Meanwhile, Koeman confirmed on Friday that summer loan signing Maarten Stekelenburg has returned from the back injury that kept him out of last Saturday's 2-2 draw with Leicester City, while Cedric Soares was also available for selection despite suffering an eye injury against the Foxes.
As noted on the club's website, he said: "[Stekelenburg]’s looking good. He did Thursday, on a day off, a session with Dave Watson. He was training normally on Friday and he’s fit for the weekend. It’s not looking good (Cedric’s eye), because it’s still all the colours you can get on your eye, but he can train normally and that’s no problem."
Jay Rodriguez and Shane Long are both likely to miss out, while Jordy Clasie will be hopeful of a starting role after recovering from a hamstring injury that has blighted his transition to life with the Saints.
Predicted Lineups
With Klopp fielding a near-unchanged side in both of his two games with Liverpool to date, it is likely that Simon Mignolet, Nathaniel Clyne, Martin Skrtel, Mamadou Sakho, Alberto Moreno, James Milner, Emre Can and Adam Lallana will all keep their places from Thursday night's stalemate.
Lucas Leiva, brought on in place of Joe Allen at half-time at Anfield, could reclaim his role as the Reds' holding midfielder, but fellow Brazilian Philippe Coutinho could find himself under pressure after a poor performance against Rubin.
The No. 10 was withdrawn just after the hour mark after failing to make an impression in midfield, and the return of Firmino—along with the vitality of Lallana—could see Klopp make a surprise move to omit him.
If Firmino and Benteke are passed fit enough to start, the £61.5 million pair could come in for Coutinho and Divock Origi.
However, it is likely that Coutinho will be given another opportunity to impose himself.
With Stekelenburg and Cedric both available for selection, Koeman is able to revert to his favoured defensive line, with Jose Fonte, Virgil van Dijk and Ryan Bertrand joining the pair, while Victor Wanyama, Dusan Tadic, Sadio Mane and Graziano Pelle will all keep their places from the draw with Leicester City.
Koeman could opt to field the defensive-minded Oriol Romeu in place of James Ward-Prowse for this clash, in order to soak up the pressure from the home side's high-intensity attacking game.
Likely Liverpool XI: Mignolet; Clyne, Skrtel, Sakho, Moreno; Milner, Lucas, Can; Lallana, Coutinho; Benteke
Likely Southampton XI: Stekelenburg; Cedric, Fonte, Van Dijk, Bertrand; Wanyama, Romeu; Tadic, Davis, Mane; Pelle
Players to Watch
Adam Lallana
Two games into Klopp's Liverpool reign and Lallana has so far proven to be one of the German's most effective players, with his work rate, intelligent pressing and technical quality complementing the Reds' attacking line perfectly.
Coming up against his former club, and under pressure from the likes of Firmino and Coutinho for a regular starting role, Lallana will be looking to impress.
Ex-Liverpool striker Rickie Lambert believes the 27-year-old has the quality to do so under Klopp, as he told the club's official website: "I think he'll give Adam a more important role within the team. Obviously it's hard to become a regular in the Liverpool team because there are so many good players, especially in his position. But if he gets a good run of games I truly believe he could be a great, great player."
Yet to fully justify his £25 million price tag, Lallana can take another step towards doing so with a starring role against Southampton.
Sadio Mane
Signed to compensate for the loss of Lallana last summer, Mane has been a revelation within Koeman's attacking line, scoring 10 goals and registering three assists in 30 Premier League appearances last season, with another two goals and four assists in nine games so far in 2015/16.
Interestingly, the Senegalese could have been a Liverpool player, as Duncan Castles revealed in a column for Bleacher Report last year:
"When Red Bull Salzburg were looking for a buyer for Sadio Mane in the summer, Liverpool were one of the clubs approached.
[Liverpool's director of research Ian] Graham's analysis indicated the Senegal international wasn't good enough, so Mane ended up at Southampton instead (paid for with a fraction of the money [Brendan] Rodgers channelled to the South Coast club for Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren and [Rickie] Lambert).
"
A pacy, direct wide forward, Mane could prove to be a key attacking threat for Koeman at Anfield.
Key Battle
Mamadou Sakho vs. Graziano Pelle
"We can play football, but if not we can play long balls—that’s what they do," Klopp continued to tell reporters on Friday, explaining his view on Southampton's tactical approach, as reported by This is Anfield.
"If not they have [Graziano] Pelle! [It is] a good thing to do to give him the ball. A good physical player but very technical."
Pelle has started the campaign in fine form, scoring five goals in nine league games, and the 30-year-old will be Southampton's key player on Sunday.
Tasked with shackling the chiselled Italian will be Mamadou Sakho—a centre-back who is developing into one of the finest defensive talents in the Premier League.
A physically dominant defender, Sakho has won more aerial duels per 90 minutes (5.5) in the league this season than any other Liverpool centre-back, and this will ensure his matchup with the bullish Pelle is fiercely contested.
Odds
Liverpool win: 11/10
Southampton win: 3/1
Draw: 13/5
Via Oddschecker and correct at time of writing.
Statistics via WhoScored.com.
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