Southampton manager Ivan Juric will have Lesley Ugochukwu back at his disposal for Saturday’s Premier League meeting with leaders Liverpool at Anfield.
The Chelsea loanee could not face his parent club in last week’s 4-0 thumping, where James Bree and Kyle Walker-Peters both sustained fresh injuries.
The defensive duo could now join Adam Lallana (thigh), Ross Stewart (fitness), Juan Larios (fitness) and Ryan Fraser (calf) on the sidelines, but there is optimism that Jan Bednarek will be able to return to the backline following a fatigue-related issue.
As well as Bednarek’s anticipated comeback, Taylor Harwood-Bellis was fit enough to make a substitute appearance against Chelsea following an injury of his own, and the England international is now primed to return to the defensive bank of five.
Harwood-Bellis and Bednarek should operate centrally with Armel Bella-Kotchap in front of Aaron Ramsdale, while Ryan Manning should get the nod over Welington to step in for Walker-Peters on the left-hand side.
Ugochukwu’s availability could spell danger for Flynn Downes‘s place in the XI, even if he has now patched things up with Juric following his disagreement with the manager, as Will Smallbone is likely to be retained.
Mateus Fernandes and Kamaldeen Sulemena should also expect to do plenty of defensive dirty work, meaning that Paul Onuachu could cut an isolated figure up front at Anfield.
Southampton possible starting lineup:
Ramsdale; Sugawara, Harwood-Bellis, Bednarek, Bella-Kotchap, Manning; Fernandes, Ugochukwu, Smallbone, Sulemana; Onuachu
> Click here to see how Liverpool could line up for this game
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