Early Liverpool team news vs Southampton – Konate likely to miss out, Tsimikas returns to training | OneFootball

Liverpool are gearing up for a relatively straightforward League Cup quarter-final at Southampton on Wednesday.

The Reds head to the south coast on the back of a spirited 2-2 draw against Fulham that put a minor dent in their Premier League title charge.

However, they’re still in firm control of their own fate as they remain at the summit, boasting a two-point lead over closest challengers Chelsea and a game in hand.

Wednesday’s contest against Southampton gives Liverpool a chance to bolster their hopes of a famous quadruple.

The Reds are overwhelming favourites to book their tickets to the League Cup semi-finals, but Arne Slot will be without several of his trusted lieutenants for the cup tie.

According to Liverpool reporter David Lynch, Ibrahima Konate will miss the midweek encounter as he continues to recover from a knee issue.

Conor Bradley is also dealing with a hamstring issue he picked up during a fantastic performance in the Champions League against Real Madrid and will sit out the trip to Hampshire.

However, Liverpool have received a timely boost, with Konstantinos Tsimikas set to return to first-team training today.

He hasn’t featured for the Reds since the start of November due to an ankle problem, but he’s in contention for the crunch quarter-final clash.

Despite marking his long-awaited return to the fold with a crucial last-minute equaliser in the 2-2 draw against Fulham, Diogo Jota is set to sit out the midweek contest.

Slot confirmed that the Portuguese forward ‘wasn’t entirely okay after the game’, which rules him out of Wednesday’s trip.

Liverpool will hope he’s fit enough for next weekend’s tricky clash against Tottenham Hotspur.

With next weekend’s blockbuster firmly at the back of his mind, it remains to be seen if Slot will roll the dice with his team selection for the League Cup.

However, whichever team starts should be able to get the job done against a Southampton side that has lost six of their eight Premier League games at home this season (W1, D1).