Liverpool welcome Southampton to Anfield, after a disappointing midweek result against Tottenham Hotspur. The Reds lost to Andre Villas-Boas' Spurs, with Welsh winger Gareth Bale playing a starring role. The 1-2 defeat brought an eight match unbeaten run to a halt and leaves the Anfield club in the bottom half of the Premier League table with 16 points from 14 games.

Liverpool Players Celebrating
Reuters

Meanwhile, Nigel Adkins' men have been in good form over the past few games, with two wins in the last three. Unfortunately, the Saints remain rooted to the bottom of the Premier League, with only 12 points so far this season.

Where to Watch Live

Kick-off is set for 3 pm GMT. Radio coverage of the game starts at 2 pm GMT on BBC Radio Merseyside. Watch highlights of the game on Match of the Day on BBC One and BBC One HD at 10.30 pm GMT.

Overview

Liverpool will target all three points after the midweek defeat to Spurs and a win, more importantly, could see the club climb into the top half of the table, depending on results for West Ham United, Fulham and Stoke City.

Manager Brendan Rodgers will have one eye on the important Europa League tie against Udinese, in Italy, in their next midweek fixture and considering the Reds have yet to book their place in the tournament's knock-out stages, the Northern Irishman may opt to rest first team stars ahead of the trip to Italy.

The Reds have not won a game since the confident 3-0 home win against Wigan in early November and have won only twice in the last 10 games... a run of form that has underlined the club's lack of quality in the squad.

Rickie Lambert
Reuters

Southampton, meanwhile, seemed to have turned a corner, particularly with young midfielder Jack Cork back in the side. The 23 year old England U21 international started against Newcastle United and QPR, leading his side to wins on both occasions.

Cork's re-emergence has helped ease pressure on Adkins, as reports ex-Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo was ready to take over at St Mary's gathered steam on the back of a run of one win in eight games.

Should the Saints manage to win this game, they will substantially improve their chances of fighting relegation, particularly with both Reading and QPR struggling at the moment. The Royals have the toughest task of the sides in the bottom three this weekend, with a visit from league leaders Manchester United to consider. The Rangers, meanwhile, host an equally out-of-sorts Aston Villa, for new manager Harry Redknapp's home debut.

Team Form

Liverpool

    • Last Five (all competitions, most recent first): L D D W D
    • Last Result: Tottenham Hotspur 2 - 1 Liverpool

Southampton

    • Last Five (all competitions, most recent first): D W W D L
    • Last Result: Southampton 1 - 1 Norwich City

Team News

Liverpool will be boosted by the return of Brazilian defensive midfielder Lucas Leiva, while right back Andrew Wisdom is likely to start against the Saints after being on the bench for the visit to White Hart Lane.

Luis Suarez
Reuters

The Merseyside club will be without defender Martin Kelly, who is sidelined for most of this season due to his knee injury. Summer recruit Fabio Borini will be out of action as well, after fracturing his foot earlier in the year. Spanish international Pepe Reina will likely start in goal for Rodgers.

Probable Line-Up: Reina; Wisdom, Skrtel, Agger, Johnson; Allen, Sahin; Suso, Gerrard, Enrique; Suarez,

Adkins will be pleased he has a nearly full-strength squad to choose from. However, midfielder Richard Chaplow and defender Frazer Richardson are both among the small group of players unavailable. The good news is defender Danny Fox is likely to travel to Liverpool and will have late fitness tests but he will probably be ready to start. Finally, Uruguayan international Gaston Ramirez will likely be looked to as the creative inspiration to unlock the home team.

Probable Line-Up: Gazzaniga; Clyne, Fonte, Yoshida, Shaw; Puncheon, Schneiderlin, Cork, Lallana; Ramirez; Lambert

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