Southampton v Liverpool: Live matchday blog
Follow all of the action at St Mary's as Liverpool face Southampton in the Premier League, with our updates, pictures, videos, stats, quotes and more.
Stats all, folks
Check out the numbers from the game below.
Full Time
Southampton 0-2 Liverpool
All over on the south coast and the Reds move back up to third in the Premier League with a two-goal win.
Roberto Firmino and Mo Salah combined to do the damage in the first half, and the visitors should in truth have enjoyed a larger winning margin - not that the manager will be too fused.
Substitution
Dejan Lovren enters the fray, taking the place of Mo Salah.
A typically lovely turn from Lallana gets him in at the Saints back four and he follows that up with a deft one-two with Salah.
However, the No.20 can only curl an effort just past the far post under pressure.
Substitution
Roberto Firmino's afternoon is over, he is replaced by Adam Lallana.
Moments later, Saints bring in Steven Davis for Oriol Romeu.
Mane the latest to go close with a left-footed effort after intelligent leaves from Salah and Gini.
Liverpool are hungry for a third here.
So close to three.
Firmino sees a low shot saved after being played in by Mane and Salah can only find the side-netting from the rebound.
He usually puts those away.
Liverpool work it around the Southampton box and a Milner cross is repelled to Can, who takes on a left-footed effort from distance.
It's not one of his best strikes and flies into the crowd.
Yellow Card
Milner gets hit with a heavy challenge from Romeu and the Saints midfielder is in the book.
Substitution
And now a sub for Liverpool, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain being replaced by James Milner.
Substitution
The first change of the afternoon as Mario Lemina makes way for Sofiane Boufal.
Mane's acrobatic volley attempt from a Firmino pull-back is blocked but Salah has a chance on the follow-up.
Unfortunately, the forward's effort is skewed over the bar.
Yellow Card
Emre Can miscontrols the ball in midfield and commits a foul trying to regain it.
Kick-Off
Liverpool get the game back under way.
Match shot
Salah tucks away the second goal of the afternoon.
Stat attack
Look at the numbers behind the first half with our Opta widget below.
Half Time
Southampton 0-2 Liverpool
The first 45 minutes comes to a close at St Mary's and the visitors hold a two-goal lead thanks to Roberto Firmino and Mo Salah.
You can't understate just how big that second goal was - the Saints arguably dominated the half and had three or four good chances to level things up.
Still plenty of work for Jürgen Klopp's team to get through.
Goal
Southampton 0-2 Liverpool (Salah)
That is an utterly ludicrous goal from the men in orange.
Salah feeds Firmino, whose flicked return pass to put his teammate in behind and one-on-one is a thing of sheer beauty.
And, well, the Liverpool No.11 doesn't miss from there.
Yellow Card
Matip brings down Tadic as Southampton look to counter and that's a booking.
Wijnaldum picks out Mane with a pass in behind but the Senegalese's poked finish rolls wide.
That's better from Liverpool, who have been under the cosh a bit since taking the lead.
Two saves in a row from Karius to keep Southampton at bay.
The first is routine, the German getting behind a Carrillo headed effort from a right-wing cross.
The second, however, is a brilliant tip over from a Ward-Prowse effort inside the area.
Match shot
A lovely finish.
Firmino tumbles in the Southampton box and claims for a penalty but the referee waves his claims away.
There does look like a small tug from Stephens but it would have been a soft one.
A great save from Karius keeps the scores level.
Robertson is caught under a cross-field pass and Hojbjerg controls for a one-on-one chance inside the box.
Karius is out quick, however, and spreads hismelf to block the shot.
The hosts enjoying a spell of possession in the aftermath of going behind but no chances to speak of as yet.
The Reds' pace on the counter means they can afford to soak up pressure.
Goal
Southampton 0-1 Liverpool (Firmino)
A brilliant counter from an opposition attack puts the Reds ahead.
Karius is quick to get the ball out to Oxlade-Chamberlain, who picks out Salah's run in behind the Saints defence.
From there, the Egyptian unselfishly tees up Firmino, who is cool in picking out the bottom corner.
Liverpool have made a promising start to proceedings here.
Southampton defend a corner won by Salah before Firmino almost nips in on a loose Hoedt touch - it looks like there will be chances to punish the hosts.
Kick-Off
Southampton get the game under way through Hojbjerg.
Here come the teams
We're closing in on kick-off here at St Mary's and, as you'd expect, there's a decent atmosphere being whipped up by both sets of supporters.
Klopp explains his team selection
Jordan Henderson has been rested today, the manager confirmed to Liverpoolfc.com.
"It was hard to decide but it gives him the opportunity to make a real session instead of sitting on the bench today, because of the situation with Emre [who is suspended for the clash with FC Porto] on Wednesday, that's the truth."
On his line-up, Klopp told Sky Sports: "It was all about thinking how we can beat Southampton, which will be difficult. That's the choice we made."
Dressing room ready
Confirmed team news – three LFC changes
Joel Matip, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Georginio Wijnaldum come into the starting XI at St Mary's.
Dejan Lovren and James Milner drop to the bench, while Jordan Henderson is not part of the matchday squad. Adam Lallana joins the substitutes.
Emre Can is captain.
Liverpool team: Karius, Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson, Can, Wijnaldum, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Mane, Salah, Firmino.
Substitutes: Mignolet, Lovren, Milner, Moreno, Lallana, Ings, Solanke.
The Reds arrive
Joel on duty
Matip takes care of the pre-match host broadcaster interview.
Weather
+++++ WEATHER UPDATE +++++
We know how popular our weather updates are - and indeed, how informative and useful they are. So, here's a second one for your enjoyment/information.
Anyway, as mentioned earlier, it's absolutely freezing down at St Mary's today - "baltic," is how website news editor Chris Shaw might describe it - and it's only going to get colder.
It's currently around six degrees, but feels more like two - which is predicted temperature for the second half of today's game.
In short: wrap up. Wrap up warm.
Happy birthday, Macca!
Today is Steve McManaman's birthday - so to mark the occasion, enjoy a goal he scored away at Southampton in a 3-1 win back in October 1995 in our free clip below.
'We will have no fear'
Some kind words for Liverpool from Southampton boss and former Reds defender Mauricio Pellegrino in today's matchday programme.
He writes: "I would like to extend a warm welcome to the staff, players and supporters who have travelled down from Liverpool for this match.
"It is a club where I spent time as a player and coach, and I was always made to feel very welcome both in football and in the city.
"It is never easy coming up against a team with the quality of Liverpool, but we believe in what we are doing and we will have no fear."
Saints captain Steven Davis is feeling optimistic ahead of this afternoon’s fixture with the Reds: “Today we know we’re coming up against a very good side, but we’ve proven in the past we have nothing to fear from these games. We have lost only one of our last six matches against Liverpool, therefore go into today’s game confident of putting in a performance.”
Sunshine at St Mary's...
...but don't be fooled. It is very, very cold. And windy.
Southampton v LFC: The quiz
Think you know everything about the history between Saints and the Reds?
Well, put your knowledge to the test with our 10 pre-match posers here.
The odds are in
BetVictor price the match as follows...
Southampton - 15/4
Draw - 3/1
Liverpool - 3/4
Click here for more details.
Pellegrino's plan
Southampton manager Mauricio Pellegrino played 13 games for Liverpool during a brief spell at Anfield in 2005.
Today, his task is to stop the Reds. And to do so, he feels the home side must reproduce the tactics that earned a 1-1 draw with Spurs recently.
He said: "The Spurs game here at St Mary's will be a useful reference for us; they are similar in their style, dangerous in attack, organised in defence. When you play against this type of team, you need to be almost perfect to beat them.
"Our challenge is to play the right way under pressure and move the ball well in small spaces because I imagine the game will be very tight and played at high intensity. Our plan is to press as hard as we can while Liverpool are fast and aggressive in front."
Our photographers were at Melwood on Friday to capture a gallery of the team's session, which was clearly conducted in good spirits ahead of the journey south...
Mane on a mission
Sadio Mane is one of a number of Liverpool players returning to their old team today, and though it's an experience the Senegal international enjoys, he has no room for sentiment.
"I always look forward to playing against my ex-club," he told Liverpoolfc.com. "They've had a few difficult weeks, but they're still Southampton - a very good team.
"But I am not thinking about going back too much - the only thinking I am doing is about trying to give my best and trying to win the game."
Magic Mo
Speaking of Salah, there can't be many better ways of spending three minutes before the game gets under way than watching his 21 Premier League goals so far...
Stat attack!
Impress your mates with these factoids ahead of kick-off...
- Dejan Lovren is in line to make his 100th Premier League appearance for Liverpool
- The Reds could keep a fourth consecutive league clean sheet against Saints for the first time
- Mohamed Salah is two goals away from becoming only the 13th man to score 30 goals in a season for the club
Top tip
If you are heading to the ground this afternoon, Saints fan Stuart Howden provided a useful nugget of info as he gave us the lowdown on his team.
"If you're looking for pub/grub before the game you're better off in the city centre, there are a good selection of bars, pubs and restaurants, including many that are away fan friendly. There is very little around St Mary's and you'd be stuck with food outlets in the stadium – which aren't bad, just limited."
*Weather update*
Stop the presses, it's your weather update.
Those in the know tell us the temperature is currently around five degrees in Southampton and that is unlikely to change until kick-off. It will drop to around two degrees by the end of the match, though, so wrap up if you are at St Mary's.
Catch up with Klopp
Did you miss the manager's pre-match press conference? Don't panic. We've got you covered.
See everything he had to say on Southampton, injuries and much more in the free video below...
Team news
So, what do we know?
Jürgen Klopp has Adam Lallana, Ragnar Klavan and Alberto Moreno available again, but Joe Gomez is ruled out of today's match.
In his media discussions before the game, the boss revealed he has a decision to make on Jordan Henderson as it 'would not make sense' to start the captain both at Southampton and FC Porto on Wednesday as he recovers from a hamstring injury.
Saints are without striker Charlie Austin.
Tale of the tape
Take a look at how each team has fared in the Premier League so far this season with our Opta tool below. It's got every number you could possibly need...
Here's how the standings look after Tottenham Hotspur claimed a big win over Arsenal in the north London derby yesterday. A response required from the Reds, then.
Welcome...
Hello and welcome to our live matchday blog for today's Premier League clash at Southampton.
Liverpool dropped down to fourth in the table after Saturday's results and need maximum points to ensure they keep pace in the top-four battle.
Follow everything that happens on the south coast right here - with our updates, pictures, videos, stats, quotes and much more.