Southampton are still finding their feet under Will Still, who is a talented coach, but the Championship can suck the energy out of even the most enthusiastic managers. The Saints have won just one of their six Championship games this season, and that victory came on the opening weekend of the campaign against Wrexham.

Southampton fell to a 3-1 defeat on the road against Hull last time out, and their assignments away from home in general have proven problematic, with two draws and one defeat from their three away matches so far, conceding six goals across these games.

Liverpool look like they’re going to win every game they play in at the moment, even if they aren’t at their best. There will be rotation for the league champions here, but they have the quality in depth to still ensure that there is a massive gulf in class between these sides.

Liverpool ran out 3-1 winners against Southampton when the sides faced off in the Premier League back in March. Liverpool were completely dominant in the game and registered an xG of 4.12 from 28 shots, seven of which found the target. 

The Carabao Cup is far from Southampton’s main priority this season, which will also come into Will Still’s thinking when selecting his starting 11, especially with such a difficult draw in the third round of the competition.

Southampton’s early-season struggles have resulted in frustration, which is showing itself through their foul and card numbers this season.

The Saints have collected 17 yellow cards across their opening six games of the Championship season (2.83 per game). Only Derby (18) have picked up more cards in the Championship this season.

Southampton have been shown 2+ cards in five of their six matches, with the exception being a home game against Stoke in which the away side were reduced to 10 men, taking out any of the intensity that Southampton would have had on that occasion.

Liverpool should control possession in this game and be able to draw fouls from Southampton, who are averaging 12.8 fouls committed per game in the early stages of the Championship season.

Rio Ngumoha should be trusted by Slot to start in this game, seeing as Liverpool have had quite a busy week with games against Atletico Madrid and Everton. 

Ngumoha has already had bright moments for the Reds this season from the bench, the most notable being a late-minute winner against Newcastle at St James’ Park a few weeks ago.

Ngumoha is one of the brightest talents emerging at Liverpool and has already made an impression on the first team, which has seen him in the squad for all of Liverpool’s games this season, showing how highly he is rated by Slot. He was also bright during Liverpool’s pre-season campaign, netting against Yokohama Mariners and Athletic Club.

Ngumoha is a very direct player and will look to take on his fullback at every given opportunity. Liverpool have been averaging 4.80 shots on target per game in the Premier League across the early weeks of the season, which is only a fraction of the attacking potential that Slot’s side have. 

Liverpool are expected to have seven shots on target here, going off the bookmakers’ pricing for efforts on goal, and I’d back Ngumoha to continue his impressive record in front of goal for Liverpool in the early weeks of the season.

Shea Charles has committed 13 fouls across his six Championship appearances this season (2.21 per 90).

He’s an incredibly combative player in the middle of the park. Southampton actually have two of them, with Charles often playing alongside Flynn Downes, who has committed nine fouls across his four appearances for the Saints this season (2.48 per 90). 

These records would suggest that we can expect the majority of fouls to be concentrated in the middle of the park for Southampton on their trip to Anfield.

This foul rate is pretty consistent for Charles; he committed 57 fouls across his 43 appearances in the Championship last season (1.41 per 90), which is a record you’d expect to increase against a higher quality of opposition.

It’s not exactly clear who Charles will line up against with Slot set to rotate the side, but all of his potential opponents offer promise when it comes to winning fouls. Florian Wirtz stands out as the most talented player to test Charles, and he may be offered a start here, seeing as he was on the bench for the Merseyside derby.

Chiesa will almost certainly get a start here after featuring from the bench on a few occasions and, perhaps unfairly, being left out of Liverpool’s Champions League squad for the league phase of the competition, with Slot preferring Rio Ngumoha.

Chiesa has plenty of talent and can show that in a game against significantly weaker opposition. I’d expect Liverpool to score at least three goals in this game, given how poor Southampton have been on the road this season, and I think Chiesa can play an influential role in helping Liverpool to that goal tally.

Chiesa has already scored for Liverpool this season, which proved to be an important goal on the opening weekend of the season against Bournemouth. He’s only played 47 minutes in the Premier League this season, but he did show his effectiveness in the early rounds of the Carabao Cup last season with a goal and an assist across just 120 minutes in the competition last campaign. 

Downes is always a player worth watching for a card. He’s already collected two across his four appearances in the Championship for Southampton this season and could end up with a graveyard shift here in midfield for the Saints.

Downes picked up 12 yellow cards across his 25 appearances for Southampton in the Premier League last season - the joint most in the division alongside Delap and Lukic, but both of those players played more games than Downes, so the Southampton man was the most likely player to be carded in the top flight last season.

I don’t see his playstyle changing here; he’s really aggressive and is part of a Southampton side that has averaged 12.8 fouls committed per game across their opening six matches and collected 17 yellow cards across these games (2.83 per game).

I always like backing Endo for a card; he’s usually around this price point, which is generous for me. Endo is a reliable player, and you know exactly what level of performance he will produce. He should step into Liverpool’s midfield here to allow some rest and recovery for Gravenberch and Mac Allister. 

Endo was shown one yellow card across his four appearances for Liverpool in this competition last season. He committed four fouls across these games (1.22 per 90) and is probably the most likely Liverpool player to receive a caution, seeing as he will be one of the deepest players when Liverpool hold possession in Southampton's half. 

Endo played regularly for Liverpool in Klopp’s final season at the club. He received 10 yellow cards across his 20 starts in the Premier League, which shows the consistency by which Endo collects cards over a larger sample size.