Federico Chiesa and Harvey Elliott should return to the Liverpool starting lineup when they take on Southampton in the EFL Cup quarter-final.
Liverpool recently picked up a narrow win over Southampton in the Premier League, and they will be hoping for a similar result here. Meanwhile, Southampton will look to end their disastrous run of form when they face the Reds in the EFL Cup quarter-final. A win over Liverpool could give them a huge confidence boost, and it would help them get their season back on track.
Liverpool are likely to rotate their squad during the midweek cup tie, and manager Arne Slot has confirmed that Kostas Tsimikas is back from his injury. With Andrew Robertson picking up a suspension at the weekend, the Greek international’s return could not have been better timed. Meanwhile, Liverpool will be without Ibrahima Konate and Conor Bradley because of injuries.
“Kostas is coming close,” Slot told journalists on Tuesday, before continuing, “He’s going to be training with us today, maybe for the first time, so let’s see how that works out. Ibou and Conor are still not training with us.”
Liverpool are likely to start in a 4-2-3-1 formation againt Southampton, with Caoimhin Kelleher in goal. Trent Alexander-Arnold and Tsimikas will start in the full-back areas, and they will look to contribute at both ends of the park. Jarell Quansah and Joe Gomez will start at the heart of the defence.
As for the midfield unit, Curtis Jones will start alongside Wataru Endo in the double pivot. They will look to break down the opposition attack. Federico Chiesa and Cody Gakpo will add flair and creativity from the flanks.
Harvey Elliott will start in the number ten role, and he will look to create goalscoring opportunities for the attackers. Darwin Nunez will lead the line here. Diogo Jota has only just returned from injury, and he is unlikely to be handed a start here.
“Diogo would have been definitely one that it was ideal for him to play, but after the [Fulham] game he wasn’t completely fit, so he didn’t train with us yesterday,” Slot said on Tuesday. “Let’s see if he can train with us today. Don’t expect him to start. Hopefully he can make some minutes, but don’t expect him to start tomorrow.”
Predicted Liverpool XI: Kelleher; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Quansah, Tsimikas; Endo, Jones; Chiesa, Elliott, Gakpo; Nunez
