The Reds will host Antonio Conte’s side in their next top-flight game at Anfield on Tuesday.
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They’ve already rejected an approach from Southampton to take him on loan for the rest of the season, with the Saints looking for a replacement for captain Jose Fonte, who’s requested to leave the club this month and could be heading to West Ham, according to Sky Sports. Considering Jürgen Klopp has repeatedly mentioned the impact a crowd can have on a result without the need for a question, could this sequence reflect a greater mood?
They were far and away the best team in the first encounter a fortnight ago as they gave Liverpool the runaround and probably feel they should have more than a 1-0 advantage to protect.
It’s Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge. We shouldn’t think about a draw, because then they will start to punish us.
But what Sturridge will want from any game is a goal, or at least a contribution to one.
Then Steven Davis connected with Lovren’s headed clearance on the edge of the area with a powerful hit, only for James Milner to get his body in the way of it. “It will be risky and not good to just defend and try to preserve this lead”. “It’s not about one player”.
“Who expects to play their best football in the middle of January?”
Emre Can is struggling in midfield, despite glimpses here of what he can do. Sadio Mane’s absence has been a big blow, but the lacklustre displays of Robert Firmino and Jordan Henderson will be of particular concern. “It will be important to make a strong game – a ideal game – I think”.
The only players with anything about them at the moment seem to be the goalkeepers.
Nathaniel Clyne missed out due to a recurrence of his recent rib/abdominal injury, while Simon Mignolet, Georginio Wijnaldum and Ragnar Klavan dropped down to the bench.
The Reds haven’t failed to score in back to back League Cup games since August 1979, when they went five matches without a goal.
Having dominated the first half possession, Liverpool returned in the second half with renewed urgency but ultimately fell short. “He is the only one making runs in behind”, Carragher said.
Sturridge lacks the work rate and tactical discipline required to be a central figure under Klopp, but his talent is without question and the reason why the Liverpool manager continues to persist with the 27-year-old is because he retains the ability to make something out of nothing.
Southampton defended well in the second half and sprung a counter attack in added time to seal their place in the final.
Next up are Arsenal in the FA Cup Fourth Round, with Southampton confident having won here and knocked them out in the EFL Cup earlier this season. Stephens will be 23 on Friday and he had never started even a Premier League game so this represented the most important sporting moment in his life.
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Liverpool’s loss to Swansea was their first at Anfield in over a year which added up to a spell 25 games so dropping another one in such quick succession would be quite a achievement even in this insane era of Merseyside unpredictability.
