Southampton coach Ivan Juric
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Southampton will be without one of their key defenders when they face Liverpool this weekend.
The struggling Saints travel to Anfield this Saturday to face Arne Slot’s table toppers.
Arne Slot’s Liverpool side is a commanding 13 points clear at the summit, with their title aspirations growing stronger each week.
Meanwhile, Ivan Jurić’s Southampton appears increasingly destined for an immediate return to the Championship after a disastrous campaign that has yielded just nine points from 27 matches.
This weekend’s encounter represents another opportunity for the rampant Reds to further cement their position at the Premier League’s pinnacle. However, they’ll need to regroup quickly after their midweek European exploits.
Meanwhile, Southampton have welcomed back four players from injury, including former Liverpool man Adam Lallana. But the Saints are set to be without one of their star men for the tie, with manager Ivan Juric confirming the news in his press conference on Thursday.
“We are all good, only James Bree is out,” Juric confirmed on Thursday ahead of Saturday’s game at Anfield.
Bree has been crucial for Southampton under Juric. The 27-year-old started in nine of Southampton’s ten Premier League games under the Croatian, only missing the first fixture against West Ham.
However, he was forced off midway through the first half of their 4-0 defeat at Chelsea last Tuesday and replaced by Taylor Harwood-Bellis.
Although Bree is set to miss the Liverpool tie, Juric confirmed that Harwood-Bellis, as well as Jan Bednarek, are back to the squad.
“I can say that when we had our defensive (options), we were much better with Jan and with Harwood-Bellis,” the Southampton boss said.
“I didn’t have to adapt anybody who was there in the defence. Now everybody is coming back. This is good news for us.”
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