Southampton vs Liverpool – Match preview and team news

Managerless Southampton welcome Liverpool to St. Mary’s Stadium in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals tonight.

Russell Martin was relieved of his duties as Southampton manager after his side lost 5-0 at home to Tottenham on Sunday night. Interim boss Simon Rusk has confirmed there are no fresh injury concerns but it is unclear whether Aaron Ramsdale will return.

Liverpool had to deal with adverse circumstances to rescue a point against Fulham, despite having a player less for the majority of the game.

Andy Robertson is suspended for Liverpool after his early red card against Fulham, with the Scotland captain serving a one-match ban.

Arne Slot will need to reshuffle his defence in the absence of Roberton and Ibrahima Konate. Kostas Tsimikas returned to training yesterday but is likely to miss out and Slot has announced Diogo Jota will not start.

Southampton vs Liverpool – Match preview and team news

Form

Southampton: LDLLL

The Saints are rooted to the foot of the Premier League table, which led to the dismissal of Russell Martin at the weekend.

The final nail in the coffin occurred on Sunday night when they were 5-0 down at half-time at home to Tottenham.

That heavy defeat was their fifth in six games with a hard-fought point away at Brighton their only bit of solace.

Southampton are nine points adrift of safety, have scored the least amount of goals in the Premier League (11), and only Wolves have conceded more than their 36. Whoever succeeds Martin has a challenging task on their hands to avoid relegation.

Liverpool: WWDWD

Even though Liverpool have dropped points in consecutive Premier League games, they remain top of the table.

An early red card for Andy Robertson meant the Reds were numerically disadvantaged from the 17th minute against Fulham Despite going behind twice, Liverpool demonstrated their title credentials as they responded to avoid defeat. However, the gap between them and second-place Chelsea has reduced to a mere two points, albeit Liverpool have played one game less.

The Reds will be eager to defend their Carabao Cup crown and win the first piece of silverware in the Arne Slot era.

Last Meeting: Southampton 2-3 Liverpool, Premier League, 24th November 2024

Bottom-of-the-table Southampton provided a stern test for league leaders Liverpool last month.

However, they were the architects of their own downfall for the opening goal. A clumsy and careless pass from Flynn Downes presented Dominik Szoboszlai with the ball and the Hungarian punished the mistake with a ruthless finish.

But the Saints retaliated with vigour to overturn the deficit. First, Andy Robertson fouled Tyler Dibling in the box and a penalty was awarded. Caoimhin Kelleher saved the initial spot-kick but Adam Armstrong atoned for his error by tapping in the rebound.

After the interval, a brisk counterattack was finished off by Matheus Fernandes, who found the bottom corner to complete the turnaround.

But the hosts were again their own worst enemies as Alex McCarthy misjudged the flight of the ball and allowed Mohamed Salah to nip in front of him to tap into the unguarded net.

Then, referee Sam Barrott awarded a second penalty in the match, this time for the visitors. Yukinari Sugawara was the individual to make the error as he inexplicably handled the ball. Salah dispatched the subsequent penalty to send his side eight points clear at the summit of the league.

Predicted Lineups

Southampton: Ramsdale; Sugawara, Wood, Harwood-Bellis, Walker-Peters; Lallana, Downes, Onuachu; Dibling, Archer, Armstrong.

Liverpool: Kelleher; Alexander-Arnold, Quansah, Van Dijk, Gomez; Mac Allister, Endo, Jones; Elliott, Gakpo, Nunez.

Who is the referee?

Simon Hooper will be the match official. He will be assisted by Adrian Holmes and Simon Long while Josh Smith will be the fourth official. VAR will not be in operation.

What channel is Southampton vs Liverpool on?

Southampton vs Liverpool will be shown on Sky Sports Football, Sky Sports Ultra, Sky Go UK and NOW TV UK.

What time is kick-off?

Kick-off at St. Mary’s Stadium will be at 20:00 GMT on Wednesday 18th December 2024.

Odds

Southampton – 11/2

Draw – 17/4

Liverpool – 2/5

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