Liverpool could move 16 points clear of Arsenal in the Premier League table by beating Southampton. Arsenal will then travel to face Manchester United on Sunday.
But Arne Slot will be missing some key men for the clash— and the Reds boss and his assistant, Sipke Hulshoff will be serving the second game of their touchline ban, meaning they will have to watch on from the stands again at Anfield. John Heitinga will be on the sidelines, as he was for the Newcastle United game, and can speak with Slot via a phone call.
In terms of playing staff, Conor Bradley and Joe Gomez are both still sidelined. The defensive pair could miss a significant period and Gomez will only be back very near the end of the campaign.
Cody Gakpo faces a race to be fit for the visit of Southampton but his injury is only minor. He traveled to PSG midweek but wasn’t named in the matchday squad in the end, and is likelier to be back for the return leg in Europe than he is to be risked this weekend.
Asked about the 25-year-old’s fitness ahead of Saturday’s game, Slot said during his pre-Southampton press conference: “He didn’t train yesterday yet so let’s see if he can train with us today. Close call. It is not a long term injury but he still had a bit of pain yesterday. Let’s see where he is today.”
“If you think injuries are only a part of luck or bad luck then we have been lucky,” Slot added. “But we believe in the fact that we have tried to prevent them in a certain way of working.
“That we don’t have many injuries, I don’t see that as luck. I see that first of all as our players are professionals and try to stay fit, and also great facilities and staff. You have to see this over a long period of time to see if this is good luck.
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“If we can continue doing this for years without many big injuries then it is probably also quality — although you can’t go through a season in the Premier League, in the Champions League, and all the cups we play in this country, without injuries.
“Diogo Jota has been out for three or four months without a start, Alisson Becker was out for weeks or maybe even months, Trent has been out, Conor Bradley… Joe Gomez is out now for months. So we also have our injuries.
“It is more the amount of injuries you hopefully try to prevent. It could be luck but I hope that we do things in the right way so it is not only luck.”
Liverpool.com says: Gakpo being back this week is most important for PSG and Newcastle. Liverpool should be able to beat Southampton without the Dutchman, with Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota vying to start.
