Under difficult circumstances, Liverpool suffered two draws in a row. Firstly, a late equalizer against Newcastle United at St James’ Park failed, despite a valiant performance in a less than hospitable environment. Secondly, at the weekend against Fulham after Andy Robertson’s early dismissal, battling with ten men for 80 minutes wasn’t ideal.

Despite this, the Reds found a way to secure a point at home and stay at the top of the Premier League with a game in hand over their peers. With both Arsenal and Manchester City having dropped points in consecutive games, this softens the blow considerably.

Next up for the Merseysiders is a break from the league, with a trip south to face current league opponents in Southampton. Having just been through the sacking of their manager Russell Martin, they should be more than excited for the occasion.

Liverpool have an unbeaten away record in all competitions this season and will look to continue that form tomorrow night at St Mary’s. Home side Southampton are looking to bounce back after their terrible form in their last five games, where they conceded fifteen goals and only scored four goals in return. This run of form also includes two games in which the Saints conceded a total of five goals.

Arne Slot will also not be in his usual seat for tomorrow’s clash, as the Dutchman is expected to miss out due to a yellow card suspension he picked up in the 2-2 draw at home to Fulham at the weekend.

Southampton – (5-3-2)

Ramsdale; Bree, Harwood-Bellis, Bednarek, Walker-Peters, Manning; Dibling, Downes, Fernandes; Archer, Armstrong.

Liverpool – (4-2-3-1)

TK – Caoimhin Kelleher: After a fantastic performance while Alisson was out with injury, it’s a shame that the last memory of Caoimh in goal is the blunder in the final moments against Newcastle United. However, such is the life of a goalkeeper. Nobody remembers you when you keep a clean sheet, but nobody forgets when a mistake is made. The form is temporary, the class is permanent. Expect Kelleher to have a strong performance against the Saints.

LB – James Norris: With Andrew Robertson suspended, Kostas Tsimikas not yet back to full fitness and Joe Gomez playing centre-back while Ibrahima Konate recovers, it seems like the right time for young Norris to move into the squad. Sometimes with young talent you have to find out sooner rather than later whether they can sink or swim and if we lose in a game with little meaning, I don’t think it might get any better.

CB – Jarrel Quansah: After a shaky start to his season when he was left out of the lineup at half-time against Ipswich in the first game of the season, Jarrel has seen little action on the Premier League stage, but he got his chance last time out following injuries to Konate and ran with it. This time it was more difficult as Joe Gomez was deployed in front of him as a central defender. There are also mistakes on the field and rumors of problems off the field. Jarrel could use a solid performance to calm his nerves and the questions being asked of him.

CB – Amara Nallo: One of the most promising young defenders to come out of the academy in a long time, everyone was excited to see the young Englishman break into the first team for some cup appearances. With players like Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez needing a break, this seems like the perfect opportunity to give the young player a chance and see if he has what it takes to take the next step.

RB – Trent Alexander-Arnold: After an early substitution and a less than great weekend performance, Trent needs a good game. Fans’ frustration is increasing for a variety of reasons: the contract situation, his attitude on the pitch, his body language, etc. After seeing him in person against Fulham at the weekend, it didn’t seem to bother him at all, whereas the same goes for Gravenberch and Szoboszlai ran for their lives to get the three points. Not what you would expect from a local.

CDM – Wataru Endo: Outside of the cup games and the final minutes of the game that had already been decided, there wasn’t much going on. Endo was a consummate professional who wanted game time but worked hard to earn it and had discussions with the manager about how best to use him. This level of professionalism and commitment is exactly what we need. Given his ability to slip into the centre-back role, don’t be surprised if this happens and Trent moves into midfield when in possession.

CDM – Tyler Morton: Another point that seems to have been left out of most of Arne Slot’s plans: the young Englishman had a great season on loan with former Liverpool player Fabio Carvalho at Hull City in the Championship. It’s a wonder why we haven’t seen more of the 22-year-old so far this season. Tomorrow could be the biggest cameo of his season and if he wants to impress the manager into giving him more minutes then there’s no better time than now.

CAM – Alexis Mac Allister: After consecutive suspensions in both the Champions League and Premier League, Alexis Mac Allister has not played a game for two whole weeks until kick-off tomorrow. Luckily, this is the perfect game to get him back fit before the clash with Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend. Expect him to lead the attack and control play from midfield.

LW – Federico Chiesa: The man from Turin who people seem to forget and who we signed at the start of this season is about to make his first appearance for the club since his muscle injury, which appears to have been years ago but was actually just a few weeks ago. Arne has admitted that he had to get up to be fit for the game and doesn’t want to rush it, a theme we’ve seen with many other players, and that their reintroduction into the squad has been slow and methodical. Under Jürgen Klopp there was a drastic change in mentality which resulted in some players being unable to return to games, in some cases leading to re-aggravation of injuries. Luckily that wasn’t the case this time around as Chiesa has had all the time to get properly fit and hopefully get back to his pre-injury form.

ST – Darwin Nunez: Darwin, who came on as a substitute against Fulham at the weekend and set up Diogo Jota’s equalizer, was a man who may have lacked confidence but was back with the manager. Darwin could do with a good game here with some goal contributions to potentially spur future performances. A Southampton side that has conceded fifteen goals in its last five games is ripe for selection.

RW – Harvey Elliott: Harvey made an extended appearance in the 2-2 draw at home to Fulham at the weekend and can probably expect Mohamed Salah to get a much-needed break in the starting lineup. With his creative presence on the wing, Harvey can be the catalyst for Darwin and Fede in attack, applying pressure like a monster when needed.

Alexis Mac Allister – 21 apps, 2 goals

Having missed the last two games in both the Premier League and Champions League, the Argentine needs a run. And a great opportunity to get those minutes against Southampton in the EFL Cup before facing Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend. Expect the entire game to flow through him and for the striker to be able to capitalize on his passing range.

Adam Armstrong – 15 apps, 3 goals, 1 assist

Southampton’s main attacker and the architect of Southampton’s attack against Liverpool in their last meeting, both scored goals and set up the draw, resulting in both Saints goals. He cannot be underestimated and our defense will have to pay attention to him throughout the game.

St. Mary’s Stadium

Wednesday December 18th, 8pm BST

Southampton 1-2 Liverpool