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Liverpool continue the defense of their Carabao Cup crown on Wednesday night when they travel to Southampton for the competition’s round of 16.
The clash at St Mary’s serves as an opportunity for the Reds to move closer to their first silverware under Arne Slot, after his predecessor Jurgen Klopp won the Carabao Cup last season. It turned out to be the German’s last trophy with the club.
Liverpool are the record winners in the history of this competition, having lifted the three-handed cup ten times and have been presented with a favorable draw for their quarter-finals. Managerless Southampton find themselves in dire straits following their 5-0 humiliation at the hands of Tottenham on Sunday.
Slot is expected to make changes to his starting lineup on Wednesday, but here are those he won’t be able to call on due to injuries and suspensions.
Liverpool’s questionable defensive performances in recent games have coincided with Ibrahima Konate be in the treatment room. The French giant suffered a knee injury during the 2-0 victory over Real Madrid in the Champions League and has been missing since. It won’t appear here.
Likewise, the right back Conor Bradley He has also been absent since facing the European champion. Despite enjoying an excellent evening against Kylian Mbappé and company, the Northern Irishman injured his hamstring during the match and will not be available, as he has not yet returned to training.
Kostas Tsimikas He has missed recent outings due to an ankle injury suffered in training. However, Slot has confirmed that he is “close” to returning and will return to training with his teammates on Tuesday. However, he is still not guaranteed a place in the matchday squad at St Mary’s.
The left back will be a problem for Liverpool if Tsimikas is not deemed fit to play. Andrew Robertson will serve his one-match suspension against Southampton after being sent off in the 2-2 draw against Fulham at the weekend.
With a fully fit midfield at his disposal, Slot has only one worry in his star-studded forward line. Unfortunately, that is Diogo Jotawho returned from a long-term injury in the weekend’s draw against the Cottagers.
Jota made an immediate impact when he scored Liverpool’s equalizer late in the match, producing a typically clinical finish. However, Slot has confirmed that he did not emerge completely unscathed.
“Diogo would have been ideal to play, but after the (Fulham) game he wasn’t fully fit, so he didn’t train with us yesterday,” Slot admitted in his pre-match press conference.
“So let’s see if he can train with us today. Don’t expect him to start. Hopefully he can get some minutes, but don’t expect him to start tomorrow.”
Player | State |
|---|---|
Ibrahima Konate | Outside |
Conor Bradley | Outside |
Kostas Tsimikas | Doubt |
Andy Robertson | Suspended |
Diogo Jota | Doubt |
