Southampton vs. Liverpool: Match Preview, Team News, and Ways to Watch

The games are coming thick and fast as we enter December, and Wednesday's mid-week match sees Liverpool traveling to Southampton to take on Ronald Koeman's men in the quarter-final of the league cup. The Reds have managed three straight wins in eight days, and things are looking bright for this rejuvenated Liverpool side. It hasn't been the smoothest run to the final eight, but if they can see off Southampton, Liverpool will only have three of Everton, Stoke City, Man City, Middlesbrough, Hull City, and Sheffield Wednesday to compete against for the cup.

Liverpool will also benefit from some key players returning and being available for selection. Jordan Henderson and Daniel Sturridge both got some minutes on Sunday during the game against Swansea, after lengthy absences, plus Philippe Coutinho will also be returning after a short injury break. Lucas Leiva served out his one game ban at the weekend, and so he will be another player vying for a starting place.

Southampton are coming off of a disappointing 3-1 loss to Manchester City in the league. In the cup, they demolished MK Dons 6-0 to make it into the quarterfinal. In their league match against Liverpool at Anfield, the game ended in a Liverpool Special -- 1-1 -- with Christian Benteke and Sadio Mane scoring. While Liverpool were knocked out of this competition by eventual cup winners Chelsea last year, Southampton were eliminated during the quarter-finals by Sheffield United.

For Liverpool:

Bogdan
Clyne/ Toure/ Lovren/ Moreno
Lucas/ Allen
Ibe/ Coutinho/ Lallana
Benteke

Adam Bogdan, having helped take Liverpool this far into the competition, will continue in goal. It's possible that one of Clyne or Moreno could get a break through Connor Randall, however it's deep enough into the competition that Klopp may not want to risk going with an academy player, even if it means that Clyne and Moreno get another 90' each. The attack is more of a mystery, with so many options available to Klopp. Daniel Sturridge and Jordan Henderson will likely be eased back into the team, so the expectation will be to see them in the second half. Roberto Firmino and James Milner could both get deserved breaks, while Benteke will likely continue to keep his place up top. It's also possible we'll see Can, Teixeira, or even Divock Origi depending on Klopp's fancy.

Danny Ings and Joe Gomez remain out for the season. Mamadou Sakho still has about 4-6 weeks left of his recovery. Jordan Rossiter is not quite there yet, though he managed to play an hour in the U-21s defeat against Manchester United on Monday, while Jon Flanagan's return date keeps steady at 3 weeks.

Kickoff is set for 7:45PM BST/2:45PM EST Wednesday. Television coverage will be on Sky Sports 1/HD UK in the UK and BeIN Sports USA in America. Elsewhere BeIN Sports Canada in Canada, BeIN Sports Australia in Australia, Ten Action in India, and SuperSport 3 Africa in Kenya are carrying the match. You can find other listings at LiveSoccerTV. For Online radio, fans worldwide can check out LFCTV GO.

We'll be keeping you updated with all the buildup to the game, including team news as it's released, our live matchday thread and post-match recaps from The Liverpool Offside staff. If you want to join the discussion, sign up for an SB Nation account to have your say on all the action as it happens.