Matip Out Injured, Lallana Not On the Bench For Reds Against Southampton

Hold onto yer butts, friends. Today’s line-ups have confirmed the news from yesterday, that Joël Matip would be missing the match due to a thigh injury. Matip has been struggling with this problem for the past week, and it seems that he is being kept out of the game as a precaution.

Those hoping to see Joe Gomez get a shot at center-back after his Man of the Match performance for England against Brazil will be similarly disappointed. While Trent Alexander-Arnold is in at right-back, Gomez only makes the bench, with Dejan Lovren partnering Ragnar Klavan in the heart of Liverpool’s defense this afternoon. Lovren, you may recall — assuming you haven’t forcibly removed this memory from your brain — was taken out of the game early when Liverpool capitulated to Spurs back in October. He hasn’t played in a match since, but it seems that narrative demands he perform against his former club and the player Liverpool had hoped to replace him in the summer, Virgil van Dijk.

Also notable is the fact that fans will have to wait at least a little while longer to see Adam Lallana on the team sheet. There had been hope that the dynamic and hardworking midfielder would make the bench for this match, but no such luck. If Klopp thinks he’s ready, the next opportunity will be on Tuesday against Sevilla.

Klopp has gone big with Liverpool’s attack, with Coutinho, Salah, Firmino, and Mané all returning to the starting XI after some injury troubles.

Kick-off for this game is at 3PM GMT/10AM EST from Anfield.