Liverpool are unbeaten in the league since December when they suffered a defeat at Old Trafford. Recent performances have seen them rise in the League table and as things stand Brendan Rodgers' side is just four points adrift of a place in the top four.
A victory against top four hopefuls Southampton can have a major role to play with the Champions League spots up for grabs. In their last Premier League encounter Liverpool got the better of another side aspiring to compete in the Premier League as they secured a 3-2 win over Tottenham.
Spurs came twice from behind in what was a scintillating encounter but Mario Balotelli's debut Premier League goal for Liverpool proved to be the winner. After their poor start to the season many had believed that Liverpool had no chance of finishing in the top four.
But Welsh midfielder Joe Allen has claimed that the Liverpool players were always confident that they would hit the ground running sooner or later.
"There was no doubt," Allen said. "We knew the level we'd been at previously and that we could get to it again.
"It was just a matter of how quickly we were going to get there. I remember being in the dressing room after that [Crystal] Palace game and I think that was the real low. Since then, we've shifted so much ground and taken so many steps forward and we didn't doubt that we would get back to it."
"I think that is the main thing when you are in those situations: You look at the players you've got, the management, the support of the club," he continued. "I think, with all those things combined, we always knew that we would pull through it.
"It was just about being patient, about sticking to our guns and working hard – all the classic cliches, if you like.
"Thankfully I think we are now reaping the rewards of that and we've still got enough time to push ourselves towards achieving something this year."
Southampton have been this season's surprise package despite having set high standards in the preceding campaign. The Saints have performed very much like a top four side all season and will surely give Liverpool a run for their money. However they will be looking for better performances having failed to record a victory in three of their last five matches in all competitions including a stalemate against West Ham last time out.
Liverpool's only notable absentee will be captain Steven Gerrard who will continue to nurse his hamstring injury. Shane Long and Morgan Schneiderlin have shown positive recovery according to Koeman and might feature in the all important match. Toby Alderweireld and Ryan Bertrand will however be unable to feature with the former recovering from a hamstring injury and the latter serving the last game of a three match suspension.
Southampton vs. Liverpool team sheets
Southampton's starting XI: Forster, Clyne, Fonte, Yoshida, Targett, Wanyama, Davis, Ward-Prowse, Djuričić, Elia, Pellè
Liverpool's starting XI: Mignolet, Can, Skrtel, Lovren, Henderson, Allen, Markovic, Ibe, Lallana, Coutinho, Sterling
Southampton bench: K. Davis, Gardos, Schneiderlin, Gardos, Long, Mané, Tadić, Reed
Liverpool bench: Ward, Johnson, Toure, Lambert, Sturridge, Moreno, Balotelli
Match details, result and original broadcast info
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