Match Preview - Southampton vs Liverpool - Key Battle, Team News, Prediction

Southampton will welcome Liverpool to St Mary's tonight. The Premier League clash will kick-off at 7:45pm BST.

The Saints are coming off a really poor result heading into the fixture against the Reds. Brentford defeated Ralph Hasenhuttl's side 3-0 at the Community Stadium last weekend.

Liverpool on the other hand are coming off an FA Cup final victory. Last Saturday, Jurgen Klopp's team beat Chelsea on penalties to secure the trophy for the first time since 2006.

Below is a preview of tonight's match between Southampton and Liverpool.

Key Battle

Klopp has confirmed that he will rotate his team against Southampton because of last weekend's FA Cup final. As we have already pointed out, the game went to extra-time.

With that being the case, the biggest battle Liverpool will have tonight is maintaining a high level of performance with several changes.

Southampton could potentially exploit the Reds as a result. Hasenhuttl does have some good players at his disposal (Nathan Redmond, James Ward-Prowse, Armando Broja etc).

So, it will be interesting to see how the match pans out.

Team News

In team news for Southampton, the club will assess the fitness of Fraser Forster and Stuart Armstrong ahead of the game. Both players are suffering from general soreness.

In team news for Liverpool, Klopp has revealed that Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk will miss the clash against Southampton. Both players limped off against Chelsea last weekend.

However, Klopp further added that Salah and Van Dijk could feature against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Anfield on Sunday (final day).

On another note, the club has confirmed that Fabinho has not recovered from a muscle injury which he picked up earlier this month.

Predicted Liverpool XI

Tonight's XI is quite difficult to predict because Klopp plans on making some changes.

But, we would not be surprised to see the likes of Takumi Minamino, Roberto Firmino, Curtis Jones, James Milner, Kostas Tsimikas, Joe Gomez and Caoimhin Kelleher get an opportunity.

In other words, tonight's game is likely to be about the squad players. However, only time will tell which team Klopp selects.

Previous Premier League Meeting

Liverpool dispatched Southampton 4-0 at Anfield earlier this season. Diogo Jota (x2), Thiago Alcantara and Van Dijk were the club's goalscorers on the day.

Klopp was thrilled with his team's performance against the Saints. But, Jota got a special mention post-game.

Klopp told the club's official website the following: "A good subject to talk about. Diogo: exceptional player, exceptional boy.

"It was for us two years ago, one-and-a-half years ago, a perfect signing because he has everything that a Liverpool player in this squad needs.

"He has the technical skills, he has the physical skills and he is very smart and can learn all the tactical stuff pretty quick.

"On top of that, he can play all three positions; in a 4-2-3-1 he could play as the 10.

"So, it is very helpful. He has the speed, has the desire to finish situations off really good. I think his goalscoring record is pretty impressive."

Prediction

We don't expect tonight to be an easy game for Liverpool. Squad rotation can have a big impact on the performance levels of a team.

However, we are confident that Klopp's side will find a way to get the three points and take the title race to the final day.

Manchester City are four points ahead of Liverpool in the Premier League table. So, a win is a must for the Reds if they want to give themselves a chance of lifting the title next Sunday.

Under Klopp, Liverpool have won big matches whilst dealing with adversity. We don't expect anything less tonight.

Southampton 0 Liverpool 2