28 February 2024 , 05:00
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Just three days after winning the Carabao Cup, Liverpool are back in action, this time in the FA Cup against Southampton.
Boss Jurgen Klopp is battling even more injury issues following that game, with Ryan Gravenberch ruled out. The Dutchman was the subject of an awful tackle by Moises Caicedo, leaving him with a ligament issue in his ankle.
With the final having gone the full 120 minutes and a crucial Premier League clash coming up on Saturday lunchtime, Klopp is expected to ring the changes. The visit of Southampton would appear to be the perfect time to hand his youngsters more minutes.
There will be no change in goal though, with Caoimhin Kelleher certain to continue in goal with Alisson still injured. The Irishman starred in the cup final win, making a number of key saves.
There is also unlikely to be any change at right-back, with Conor Bradley earning another start in that position. The rest of the back four is expected to all be changed though as Klopp rests his top stars.
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Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate and Andy Robertson are all likely to drop out of the starting line-up. In their place, Joe Gomez and Jarrel Quansah are expected to be the centre-back partners, while Kostas Tsimikas is set to be named at left-back.
All three came on as substitutes in the final on Sunday, as did two of the three players expected to line up in midfield. James McConnell and Bobby Clark were both called off the bench and are likely have earned starting spots.
They could be joined by Alexis Mac Allister, who started Sunday's final, though came off as a sub. Meanwhile, Cody Gakpo could be the only survivor out of the front three that faced Chelsea.
HAVE YOUR SAY! What should be Liverpool's line-up against Southampton? Comment below.
Jayden Danns and James McConnell are both expected to start against Southampton (Clive Brunskill)The Dutchman could start against the Saints, though, and he is set to be joined by Kaide Gordon and Jayden Danns. The academy duo would replace Luis Diaz and Harvey Elliott if that did happen, with Klopp backing his side to keep up their momentum.
"We will see how that [looks] when the players arrive and then they get checked. Yesterday was kind of a massive recovery day and appreciation day for winning the League Cup, so only the very young boys trained yesterday, had a proper session," he said.
"All the others recovered. Today we will have a session, we need to have a session and it’s the only one before the game. When I get all the information and when the players arrive here and I can look in their eyes and I can see who might be ready, who’s not ready.
"In the end, I hope and I’m pretty positive that it will be a decent line-up. But let me say it like this, what an atmosphere can do we realised now quite a few times, but it would be really helpful if we could create something special on Wednesday night as well.
"I know I ask that quite a lot but it’s a tricky time but somehow anyway pretty positive and we would like to keep doing that, but we need our people for that, there’s no other chance. There is only one advantage we can have tomorrow night, that’s Anfield and that’s what we need."
Potential Liverpool line-up vs Southampton: Caoimhin Kelleher; Conor Bradley, Joe Gomez, Jarrell Quansah, Kostas Tsimikas; James McConnell, Bobby Clark, Alexis Mac Allister; Kaide Gordon, Jayden Danns, Cody Gakpo
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