- Southampton will be without Mario Lemina for Saturday’s game against Liverpool
- Midfielder still sidelined with an ankle injury
- Liverpool, in contrast, welcome back a number of players from injury
- SEE MORE: Owen: why I could never rejoin Liverpool
Southampton will be without midfielder Mario Lemina when they travel to face Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday.
The game arrives too early for the Gabon international, who is still struggling with an ankle injury he recently suffered in training.
Speaking ahead of the game, Saints manager Mauricio Pellegrino told Southamptonfc.com: “”Mario Lemina was training well, much better than before,” the manager reiterated. “But he will not be ready to play Saturday.”
“We look at his problem three weeks ago and he’s improved a lot [since then]. But it is too soon to put him on the pitch.”
Lemina’s absence will likely see Southampton lineup with a central-midfield duo of Steven Davis and Oriol Romeu, with James Ward-Prowse posing as another option.
Whilst Southampton plan for an afternoon without the former Juventus man, Jurgen Klopp looks set have a near-full-strength Liverpool squad at his disposal.
Philippe Coutinho will be available for selection again after recovering from a minor knock that saw him miss the 4-1 win against West Ham.
The Reds will also have Sadio Mane back after the dismissal of fears the forward had re-aggravated a hamstring injury whilst on international duty with Senegal.
Skipper Jordan Henderson could also feature having missed the win at the London Stadium and England’s friendlies against Germany and Brazil.
Perhaps the most notable update is the recovery of Adam Lallana, who returned to training this week having been out injured since early August.