Jurgen Klopp explains Sadio Mane and Trent Alexander-Arnold absences vs Southampton

Jurgen Klopp insists he needed to freshen up his Liverpool side against Southampton after Sadio Mane and Trent Alexander-Arnold were both left out of the matchday squad.

Liverpool required extra time and penalties to beat Chelsea in the FA Cup final on Saturday, and now their focus turns to the Premier League where a win at St Mary’s would put them just a point behind leaders Manchester City ahead of the final day of the season on Sunday.

From the FA Cup final against Chelsea, Klopp has kept just Alisson and Ibrahima Konate in his starting XI, while Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliott, Takumi Minamino and Kostas Tsimikas have all been given rare starts.

When asked about his decision to heavily rotate his Liverpool side for their trip to Southampton, Klopp told Sky Sports: ‘Different things to consider.

‘First of all, it was clear from the beginning we need here for this game, in the situation Southampton is, with the point they have to prove, with the results they had against other top-six teams, we need 100 per cent desire, fresh legs, we need to be ready for a proper fight, these kind of things.

‘From my point of view, you have to make a real starting line-up and then you need to have a look who can go after 120 minutes again, who is physically in the situation or mentally in the situation because obviously the season is intense for the boys. Some of them played pretty much all the time.

‘After the game against Chelsea, celebrations, then being really happy, then we settled, then… Southampton.

STARTING XI: Alisson; Gomez, Matip, Konate, Tsimikas; Milner, Jones, Elliott; Minamino, Jota, Firmino

SUBS: Kelleher, Thiago, Keita, Henderson, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Diaz, Robertson, Origi, Williams

‘In the moment when I did the line-up I