Southampton take on in-form Liverpool at St. Mary

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp says he expected a worse display from his side in their 0-0 Premier League draw with Southampton on Saturday.

“They always took players and we had to replace”. “It felt absolutely like more [than 65 per cent possession]”. First half, you could see we thought: ‘It’s really hard.’ We were prepared for a hard game but then in the game it feels differently, obviously.

“What’s momentum before the game?” “We need to take confidence not just to play good football, but to get a good result”.

He added: “Sometimes you have games like that when you play well but don’t score”. We can not change what other teams do.

Firmino and Clyne were among several Liverpool players who were away on worldwide duty in the week and even though some only returned a couple of days before the trip to the south coast, Klopp did not use that as an excuse for the stalemate.

This is Liverpool’s best start to a Premier League season after 11 matches since 2008/09 (also 26 points).

But the Reds are unlikely to risk Coutinho against the Saints if there is any worry that it could exacerbate any injury concerns.

Liverpool’s Sadio Mane was the best player on the pitch in the first half, and he must have thought he’d scored on 28 minutes when he fired a shot towards the top corner. Stuart also revealed why Sadio Mane’s impact since swapping the south coast for Anfield in the summer has come as no surprise, and much more…

So, it’s only natural that they look for a couple of new defenders during this upcoming transfer window, as they’re going to be on the hunt for a left back as well in order to fill that void that James Milner has tried to complete.

Southampton boss Claude Puel insisted his side did not change their approach to counter the attacking threat of their opponents and was pleased to return from the global break with a strong display after losing at Hull a fortnight ago.

“After the Hull game we were very disappointed and we can’t wait to put it right”, said Rodriguez.

He told reporters: “After global breaks it’s a special situation”. It’s good and what you have to do, and what we did at Borussia Dortmund.

Roberto Firmino, Philippe Coutinho and Nathaniel Clyne had the opportunities to secure the victory, as Liverpool ground out plenty of chances without being allowed the fluency that has become their trademark.