Southampton manager Ronald Koeman expects an open match when Liverpool visit St Mary’s Stadium on Sunday.
The two clubs met on the opening weekend of the season, when Liverpool triumphed 2-1 at Anfield thanks to Daniel Sturridge’s winner 11 minutes from time.
That came despite a spirited performance from Southampton, who many people tipped to struggle after seeing a host of their star names depart – three of them to Liverpool.
For Adam Lallana, Rickie Lambert and Dejan Lovren, the match represents their first return to their former club. Lallana, who spent 14 years at Southampton and captained them to an eighth-place finish last term, is likely to be the only one of that trio given a starting role.
After being frustrated by Swansea City and West Ham United in their last two home matches, Koeman is expecting Liverpool to show more attacking intent.
“I think it’s about teams. I don’t expect Liverpool to come in that way on Sunday,” he said. “We have to know that Swansea and West Ham didn’t come to Southampton to play open and offensively. That brings difficulties and we didn’t have the quality to break them down.
“This Sunday is totally different, but it’s all about sharpness in the box, possibilities. I think it’s a good time to score goals and create more opportunities than we did in the last two games.”
Southampton go into the match fourth in the table, four points and three places clear of their opponents in the race for UEFA Champions League qualification.
They have lost one of their last nine league matches, while Liverpool have tasted defeat only once in their past 17 outings in all competitions.
Rodgers confident in Reds’ quality
With that run of form boosting their hopes of a top-four finish, manager Brendan Rodgers says this weekend’s encounter is an important one as they look to move to within a point of Southampton.
“They’ve kept their momentum going over the last five seasons,” he said. “They’ve found themselves in the top four and deservedly so. With 13 games to go, it would be a big step for us to get a result. We know we’ve got the quality and confidence to go there and get a result. We need to keep edging towards it [the top four].”
Rodgers confirmed that captain Steven Gerrard (hamstring) would be unavailable for the match on Sunday.
For Southampton, Koeman said Shane Long and Morgan Schneiderlin were looking “positive” after respective rib and groin problems and expects them to be in contention this weekend. Centre-back Toby Alderweireld is still out with a hamstring injury and Ryan Bertrand serves the last fixture of his three-match suspension.
Southampton (from): K Davis, Forster, Gazzaniga, Clyne, Fonte, Gape, Gardos, Targett, Yoshida, S Davis, Djuricic, Elia, Mane, McQueen, Reed, Schneiderlin, Tadic, Wanyama, Ward-Prowse, Gallagher, Long, Pelle, Seager.
Liverpool (from): Mignolet, Ward, Johnson, Jose Enrique, Lovren, Manquillo, Moreno, Sakho, Skrtel, Toure, Allen, Can, Coutinho, Henderson, Lallana, Markovic, Balotelli, Borini, Ibe, Lambert, Sterling, Sturridge.
source:premierleague.com
STUDIO 3 NEWCASTLE AUSTRALIA 