Fresh from lifting the Carabao Cup, Liverpool switch focus back to the FA Cup on Wednesday night when they entertain Southampton at Anfield for a fifth-round clash.
After 120 minutes of exhausting action at Wembley Stadium on Sunday evening, the Reds were crowned the Carabao Cup champions for the 10th time in their history thanks to a late extra-time winner from skipper Virgil van Dijk, helping his team beat Chelsea 1-0.
Arsenal and Norwich City have already tasted defeats at the hands of Jurgen Klopp’s side in the FA Cup this year, and the 1-0 Carabao Cup success over Chelsea also represented a fourth win on a trot across all formats for the Premier League leaders. They will be overwhelming favourites on paper against Southampton, who were beaten 2-1 by Millwall in Saturday’s Championship game.
Liverpool Team News
Winning the Carabao Cup certainly came at a significant cost for Liverpool, who saw Ryan Gravenberch leave the field on a stretcher following a robust challenge by Moises Caicedo, before Wataru Endo was spotted exiting the stadium on crutches with his left foot in a protective boot. However, Jurgen Klopp didn’t provide any update regarding Endo’s fitness after the game, with the hope being that it is simply precautionary.
All of Mohamed Salah, Dominik Szoboszlai and Darwin Nunez, who were filmed celebrating the Carabao Cup success, failed late fitness tests and were not part of the matchday squad on Sunday.
Predicted Liverpool lineup vs Southampton (4-3-3)
Goalkeeper
Caoimhin Kelleher produced a couple of excellent saves to keep a clean sheet against Chelsea in the Carabao Cup final. His confidence will be very high heading into the FA Cup tie against Southampton.
Defence
With injuries aplenty, Jurgen Klopp will shuffle his pack at the back, where Joe Gomez, Jarrell Quansah and Kostas Tsimikas will almost certainly be drafted in.
With Virgil van Dijk, the hero of Liverpool’s Carabao Cup triumph, expected to drop to the bench, Gomez must marshal his troops well. The Englishman will pair up with Quansah in central defence, with Conor Bradley and Tsimikas providing energy and width from the full-back positions.
Midfield
Bobby Clark and James McConnell were two academy products to enjoy minutes at Wembley, and following Endo and Gravenberch’s concerns, the pair are now primed to line up alongside Alexis Mac Allister in the Liverpool engine room. Mac Allister is expected to screen the back four, allowing Clark and McConnell to push forward and get involved in attacks.
Attack
Jayden Danns also saw the field at Wembley on Sunday, and the young gun could benefit from Luis Diaz’s fatigue. The teenager is expected to join Harvey Elliot and Cody Gakpo in the Liverpool attack.
Should Salah and Nunez be passed fit in midweek, they will be solid attacking options to have on the bench.