Liverpool vs Southampton LIVE: Premier League confirmed line-ups as Arne Slot names strong team – UK Times

Arne Slot names a strong team to face Southampton and makes just three changes from the side that started in the Parc des Princes, with Tsimikas, Jones and Nunez placing Robertson, Mac Allister and Jota.

That means Salah, Van Dijk and Gravenberch maintain their 100 per cent records in the Premier League this season. Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Szoboszlai, Diaz and Alisson all keep their places too.

Liverpool XI: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Gravenberch, Jones, Szoboszlai; Salah, Nunez, Diaz

Should be dropping in the next few minutes…

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot said today’s Premier League fixture against Southampton is the first of “three finals” this week but suggested he will make changes to his team ahead of the second leg of their Champions League tie against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday.

Top-scorer Mohamed Salah, captain Virgil van Dijk and midfielder Ryan Gravenberch have started all 28 of their Premier League games this season but, with Tuesday’s tie with PSG followed by Sunday’s Carabao Cup final against Sunday, Slot was asked whether he could rotate for the visit of Southampton.

He said: “If there was three, four, five days in between the last game and this one I would have probably started the same 11 again, even if there was only two days in between for the next one.

“Since there is only two days in between and we had to fight really hard and it’s not the first game after being out for three or four weeks, it’s probably the 50th game in three months – I don’t know how many.

“You take that into account but you take the quality from the team you face, you take the form of the players, how fit they are, which players fit best together.”

Arne Slot has denied that Liverpool have been lucky with injuries this season as he said their excellent fitness record was the product of the fitness of their players and the excellence of their medical team.

Whereas title rivals Arsenal have been without key players for large swathes of the season, with Bukayo Saka and both strikers, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus, out now and captain Martin Odegaard missing in the autumn, Slot’s squad have often had a relatively clean bill of health.

But the Dutchman brought performance coach Ruben Peeters with him from Feyenoord as part of his bid to prevent injuries and said Liverpool are using their expertise in their attempts to keep players available.

Liverpool manager Arne Slot hailed an improved performance from Darwin Nunez as the Uruguayan bounced back from his recent poor form against Paris Saint-Germain.

Slot had been critical of Nunez in recent weeks, with the striker short of goals and struggling to show the sort of attitude that the Liverpool manager desires from his players. But the Dutchman was pleased to see his bench make an impact as he praised both Nunez and Harvey Elliott.

“A big moment for [Harvey Elliott],” Slot said. “He is in competition for players that I hardly take off. So, he has to do it with limited playing time but he just keeps on going,” Slot said.

“But it wasn’t only Harvey, it was also the one who assisted, Darwin, who came from a difficult two games but was absolutely there again tonight because from the moment he came in we were more of a threat than before.”

Virgil van Dijk has warned Liverpool’s Champions League suffering is not yet over after coming through a gruelling examination against Paris St Germain in the Parc des Princes.

Having been totally dominated for 87 minutes substitute Harvey Elliott scored with his first touch – and his team’s first shot on target – to snatch a barely-believable 1-0 victory in their Champions League last-16 first leg.

“I think you could see, it was not the usual game we like to play,” Van Dijk said. “We don’t want to be playing this way because everyone who plays football wants to have the ball a lot and wants to be dominating opponents.

“But we played against a team with a lot of quality, world-class quality, and they made it very difficult for everyone in the world so far and they made it difficult for us but we found a way and we have to try to finish it off next week.”

Well it’s been quite the week for Liverpool already.

Arne Slot said Alisson Becker proved he is “the best in the world”. Jamie Carragher called it “the best performance of his career”. Thierry Henry called him “magnificent”. Speaking to French publication Le Parisien, Brest manager Eric Roy likened him to Jesus (steady on, Eric). Alisson didn’t go that far but the Liverpool goalkeeper acknowledged that it was the “performance of my life”.

Liverpool pinched a remarkable 1-0 win at Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Wednesday night, and at the heart of the victory was an inspired Brazilian who wouldn’t be beaten. Alisson’s nine saves were the most by any Liverpool goalkeeper in a Champions League match since records began 22 years ago.

Here, we break down a goalkeeping masterclass and rank his work from ninth to best, from simple stops to spectacular saves:

Liverpool XI: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Quansah, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Endo, Jones, Szoboszlai; Salah, Jota, Nunez

Southampton XI: Ramsdale; Sugawara, Harwood-Bellis, Bella-Kotchap, Bednarek, Walker-Peters; Fernandes, Downes, Ugochukwu, Sulemana; Onuachu

Capped England defender Taylor Harwood-Bellis is back in contention after returning from injury while Jan Bednarek is also fit after missing the defeat at Chelsea. Lesley Ugochukwu may also return to the line-up after being ineligible against Chelsea.