Picking the Right Liverpool Starting XI to Face Southampton

Same again? As far as Brendan Rodgers’ outfield plans go ahead of the trip to face Southampton at St. Mary’s on Saturday, it is certainly a case of “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.”

Last Sunday’s 3-2 victory over Tottenham at Anfield might not have been Liverpool’s best performance of the season, but it was probably the most impressive result.

Fielding an attacking side last weekend, the Reds were a threat going forward throughout the game, and facing the side who have conceded the joint-most amount of home goals this season they should take that form into this weekend too.

Bar a change in goal with the return of the fit-again Pepe Reina to replace his stand-in, Brad Jones, Liverpool should go with the “same again” at St. Mary’s, in a match they’ll need to win to keep up their challenge for a European place next season.

Here is the lineup that Rodgers should name at Southampton.

Pepe Reina

This season has seen Reina seemingly miss more league games than all his previous years in Liverpool’s goal combined, but although he has had some wobbles he is still comfortably the best stopper at the club.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side may concede regularly in home matches, but they’ve also scored in all but three of their 15 games at St Mary’s this season, and so the Spaniard may have to be on his toes.

Glen Johnson

One of the first names on Liverpool’s teamsheet and a player whose attacking instincts will be as important as his defensive ones here.

Whilst Glen Johnson will have to keep an eye on the likes of Gaston Ramirez as Southampton come forward, when the Reds attack he’ll be looking to provide an outlet and a threat to the home defence. He’ll be a key player here.

Jamie Carragher

Another game closer to the end for Jamie Carragher, who now has only nine matches left before hanging up his boots.

He’ll be up against a fellow Scouser in Rickie Lambert here, and the form that both have shown this season means that it could well be a compelling battle. As with every battle he enters, Carragher will refuse to consider defeat.

Daniel Agger

One of the Dane’s two goals this season proved to be the winner in the 1-0 victory over Southampton at Anfield at the beginning of December, and although he’d love to add to that tally here, it’ll be defensive issues that he’ll have to concentrate on.

With the retirement of Carragher, Daniel Agger is likely to become the leader in Liverpool’s defence in the years to come, and he’ll look to continue to learn from him at St. Mary’s.

Jose Enrique

Another impressive outing from Jose Enrique against Tottenham saw the full-back register his sixth assist of the Premier League season, and the Spaniard will again be important here as Liverpool seek to pin Southampton back in their own half.

This has been a good season for Enrique―somewhat against the odds―and he’ll be seeking a strong finish, which can continue here.

Lucas Leiva

It went somewhat unnoticed against Tottenham, but Lucas produced one of his finer displays since returning from injury.

The fact that he wasn’t noticed probably shows exactly how good this most unheralded of players is, and he’ll be seeking to keep that performance level high in a match in which Liverpool can really dominate from midfield.

Steven Gerrard

Another start for Steven Gerrard and a chance to prolong his unexpected record of playing in every minute of every one of Liverpool’s league matches this season into a 30th fixture.

Gerrard led his team superbly against Tottenham, and here he’ll be required to take control of a contest that will be tough for Liverpool, but it is nothing that they should be overly concerned with.

Gerrard has seen it all before, of course.

Philippe Coutinho

Three of the Brazilian’s four appearances for Liverpool so far have come at Anfield, but it was probably the one he’s made away from home that was the most impressive.

His two assists in the 4-0 win at Wigan two weeks ago showed that the former Inter Milan man has certainly hit the ground running during his brief career in England so far, and against a team who aren’t renowned as one of the roughest in the division, he should be able to express himself once more.

Stewart Downing

Can Stewart Downing make it three goals in three games? That remains to be seen, but the turnaround in the winger’s goalscoring form is certainly deserved for the hard work he’s put in.

Close-range strikes against Wigan and Tottenham have showcased his ability to get into scoring positions―something that not enough players in the Reds team looked capable of doing in the early portion of the campaign―and he’ll be looking to continue that improvement here.

Luis Suarez

The Premier League’s top goalscorer, most exciting player and biggest box office draw goes to Southampton for the first time, and he’ll be as confident as ever.

The Saints represent a rare team that Luis Suarez hasn’t scored against yet this season, and so the Uruguayan will be seeking to put that right at St. Mary’s in yet another fixture when the Reds will be relying upon their main man.

Daniel Sturridge

Daniel Sturridge didn’t have the greatest of games against Tottenham, but his mere presence made life tough for the Spurs defenders; he’ll be seeking to do the same to the Southampton back line here.

He won’t be happy unless he finds the net of course, and if he can do that here he’ll help his team towards a three points which could lift them to fifth place in the table by the end of the weekend, depending on results elsewhere.