Liverpool predicted lineup vs Southampton - Premier League
Liverpool sign off before the imminent World Cup with a Premier League home game against Southampton on Saturday afternoon.
New Saints boss Nathan Jones has been given the daunting task of travelling to Anfield for his first top-flight match as a manager. Brighton's Roberto De Zerbi was faced with the same feat as recently as October, overseeing a 3-3 draw.
However, no previous coach has ever taken a point when their first Premier League game has been away to Liverpool; David Pleat, Chris Hutchings, Ronald Koeman, Daniel Farke and Marcelo Bielsa all fell to defeat.
Here's the XI Jurgen Klopp may deploy to get one over the division's newbie.
Liverpool predicted lineup vs Southampton (4-3-1-2)
GK: Alisson - Since his Premier League arrival in 2018, Alisson has completed more passes than any other goalkeeper (per Sky Sports).
RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold - Only West Ham's Aaron Cresswell has created more Premier League chances (26) without registering a single assist than Alexander-Arnold this season (24).
CB: Ibrahima Konate - With Joe Gomez deployed in the midweek Carabao Cup, Konate could be in line for his first Premier League appearance at Anfield since May.
CB: Virgil van Dijk - The former Saints centre-back has won all six of his meetings with Southampton since joining Liverpool in 2018. Van Dijk even scored on his last appearance against his former club.
LB: Andy Robertson - The first appearance Robertson made as a player at Anfield saw him come out on the wrong side of a 5-1 shellacking while at Hull City. It's safe to say that his fortunes on Merseyside have been more favourable since donning a red shirt.
CM: Harvey Elliott - "If there was anything lying around on the floor as a kid," Eliott recalled, "I’d volley it as hard as I could." Presumably, Liverpool's medical staff have dissuaded him from this habit.
CM: Fabinho - When discussing the imminent arrival of his first son, "a little Scouser", Fabinho joked: "I hope the other members of my family will be able to understand him when he talks!”
CM: Thiago Alcantara - To hone his famed close control, Thiago practised weaving between furniture rather than on the training pitch. "They had cones," he remembered. "I had chairs."
AM: Roberto Firmino - A surprise omission from Tite's Brazil squad, Firmino can attack this final Premier League match before the hiatus without the fear of a World Cup-ending injury.
ST: Mohamed Salah - Just as the first segment of the campaign draws to a close, Salah has rediscovered his form, rattling in nine goals across his last eight appearances.
ST: Darwin Nunez - The all-action forward is averaging an unrivalled 6.2 shots per 90 minutes - comfortably a Premier League high among the division's regulars.
