Southampton will look to take a big step towards the League Cup final at Wembley when they host Liverpool in the first leg of their semi-final tie at St Mary’s on Wednesday night.

Saints boss Claude Puel and his side will be desperate to beat the Reds and advance to being one match from glory – especially with the club's last major trophy win coming more than 40 years ago in the FA Cup.

However, the South Coast outfit come into this clash in poor form and with the news that captain Jose Fonte has handed in a transfer request - suggesting he will leave the club this month.

Puel’s men did end a run of three straight Premier League defeats with a 2-2 draw at Norwich in the third round of the FA Cup on Saturday, although they would have been thoroughly disappointed to concede an injury-time equaliser against the Canaries after Virgil van Dijk and Maya Yohsida had twice put the visitors in front.

Here are THREE Saints players that must step up against Liverpool if Southampton are going to lift the trophy this year.

Fraser Forster

The England international was considered to be one of the best stoppers in the Premier League last season after making some fine saves and picking up six clean sheets in a row early on in 2016.

However, it has been a different story for Forster this term and he has come under fire in recent weeks for his poor kicking and his failure to keep the ball out of the net, while he made a dreadful error to gift Christian Benteke the opening goal in a 3-0 defeat against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park last month.

The 28-year-old needs a big performance when Liverpool come to St Mary’s if Saints are to keep their chances of reaching Wembley alive.

Dusan Tadic

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Southampton's Dusan Tadic 
Reuters / Toby Melville
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Earlier on in the season, the Serbian playmaker looked to be the key man in Claude Puel’s side – sitting at the tip of the diamond and tasked with creating chances for the strikers as well as providing a goal threat himself.

However, despite scoring one Premier League goal, Tadic has found himself in and out of the team in recent weeks and he didn’t pick up his first league assist until New Year’s Eve.

With Sofiane Boufal on the sidelines because of injury, Saints need the 28-year-old to be firing on all cylinders on Wednesday night.

Jay Rodriguez

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The story of Saints’ season has been their struggle to score goals – they have netted just 19 in 20 Premier League matches this term – and without top goalscorer Charlie Austin to call upon, the pressure will be on Rodriguez to provide that attacking threat against Liverpool.

The striker has struggled to get back to his best following the serious injury he suffered against Manchester City back in 2014, but his brace against Bournemouth last month showed glimpses of the form that saw him called into the England squad three years ago.

With Shane Long starting in the FA Cup against Norwich on Saturday, Claude Puel’s rotation should see Rodriguez replace him in the team against Jurgen Klopp’s side. Provided he receives the required service, he will need to finish any chances he gets to keep his club’s hopes of winning silverware alive.