Liverpool visit the St. Mary’s Stadium for the second time in less than a month as they take on Southampton in the quarter-final of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday, December 18th, at 20:00 UK time.
Their last visit to the venue saw them earn a hard-fought 3-2 win in the Premier League in November and after the Saints were thumped 5-0 by Tottenham at the weekend, the Reds will be comfortable favourites heading into the match. The only difference between now and then is that Russell Martin has been sacked and Simon Rusk, the interim coach, will oversee his first match for the senior team.
Having said that, here is a look at the team’s possible eleven for the match.
Goalkeeper – Alisson Becker is likely to be rested and Caoimhin Kelleher could resultantly get some more minutes between the sticks.
Defenders – Liverpool have not got much depth in their defensive department so not many rotations may occur in the back four. Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold could start as the left and right full backs. While the Scot is suspended for Liverpool’s next Premier League game, the English star’s understudy in Conor Bradley is injured.
In the middle of the backline, Joe Gomez is likely to retain his place and pair up with Jarell Quansah, who might replace Virgil van Dijk.
Chiesa likely to start
Midfielders – The midfield could see the fringe players feature. Watauro Endo and Tyler Morton might start in the double pivot, thereby handing Curtis Jones and Ryan Gravenberch with some much-deserved rest. At number 10, Harvey Elliott might be handed the start ahead of Dominik Szoboszlai.
Federico Chiesa’s £10 million transfer from Juventus has been marred by injuries but he could find a rare berth in the starting eleven ahead of Mohamed Salah on the right flank, whereas Darwin Nunez could come in for Cody Gakpo on the left.
Forward – Diogo Jota marked his return from injury with a goal at the weekend against Fulham and after looking decent in a 10-minute cameo against Fulham last time out, he could be tasked with leading the line in the cup fixture.
Here is how Liverpool might look on paper:
