Southampton recorded a much-need win – and their first since the end of November – when they came from behind to beat West Bromwich Albion 3-2 at the Hawthorns on Saturday.
Saints had slipped into the relegation zone following a run of 12 Premier League matches without a win, and it looked as though things were about to get even worse for the club – and under-fire manager Mauricio Pellegrino – when they fell behind to a fourth-minute Ahmed Hegazi header.
However, goals from Mario Lemina, Jack Stephens and James Ward-Prowse gave the visitors a comfortable lead, and they held on despite Salomon Rondon's header to move out of the bottom three.
The south coast outfit will look to build on that performance and result – one that saw them extend their unbeaten run in all competitions to six matches – when they host Liverpool at St Mary's on Sunday, when they could come up against a host of their former players including Virgil van Dijk, Dejan Lovren, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Adam Lallana and Sadio Mane.
While Pellegrino may be tempted to stick with the same XI that took all three points in the west Midlands, the Argentine boss could be asking for trouble unless he makes a couple of alterations.
Here are two changes the 46-year-old must make to his team when they host Liverpool…
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg for Dusan Tadic
Pellegrino lined up with a 4-2-3-1 formation at the Hawthorns that saw Mario Lemina replace Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg alongside Oriol Romeu in the middle of the park from the previous draw against Brighton and Hove Albion at St Mary's, with Sofiane Boufal coming in for Steven Davis and new boy Guido Carrillo replacing Shane Long up top.
The attack-minded changes were right for the trip to fellow strugglers West Brom, but Saints should play it must more cautiously when they face one of the best attacks in the league on Sunday – only Manchester City have scored more than Liverpool's tally of 59 goals in 26 Premier League matches this term.
Bringing in Hojbjerg for Tadic would allow the Dane to partner Romeu in the middle, with Lemina playing more of a box-to-box role in front of them – he showed how much of an impact he can have in the final third with his dribbling ability and fine finish from outside the penalty area against the Baggies.
The Gabon international could then drop in when needed to create a central midfield three when the likes of the Premier League's top goalscorer Mo Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberton Firmino are attacking them, in order to boost their chances of picking up at least a point.
Shane Long for Guido Carrillo
While Carrillo did a decent job up top on his first start for Southampton against West Brom, Pellegrino must consider bringing Long back into the starting XI when Liverpool come to town on Sunday.
In Dejan Lovren and Virgil van Dijk especially, the Reds have centre-backs that are strong in the air and that is the Saints new boy's main strength, so it may be more effective for the hosts to play the Republic of Ireland international instead given that he can try and force mistakes and stretch a defence which still looks far from convincing despite the arrival of the Dutchman at the start of January.
Long may not bring too much of a goal threat given his disappointing record over the course of the last 12 months, but he has the pace and the determination to cause a real problem for Jurgen Klopp's side on Sunday, and his role could be key to helping his team pick up at least a point.
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