Arne Slot Confirms He Will 'Keep An Eye On' Three Key Liverpool Players Ahead Of Southampton Tie

Liverpool take on Southampton in the Premier League on Sunday

Liverpool s head coach Arne Slot during the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Aston Villa FC at Anfield / IMAGO / Propaganda Photo

Arne Slot has admitted he will assess the fitness of Alexis Mac Allister, Luis Diaz, and Darwin Nunez ahead of Liverpool's Premier League clash at Southampton on Sunday.

The Reds head into the game five points clear over second-placed Manchester City who lost 4-0 to Tottenham Hotspur at Etihad on Saturday night and a win over the Saints will extend their lead to eight points before the two sides meet next week at Anfield.

Slot will have to make a decision over his South American contingent. Alexis Mac Allister, Luis Diaz, and Darwin Nunez all represented their respective countries during the latest round of 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

Diaz featured in the entire game in Colombia's defeats against Uruguay and Ecuador. Nunez was in action against Colombia but was substituted at half-time in Uruguay's 1-1 draw in Brazil.

Mac Allister, on the other hand, played 64 minutes in Argentina's defeat in Paraguay before being replaced late in the win over Peru having been on the receiving end of a poor challenge.

All three players were involved in training on Friday as Liverpool ramped up preparations for their trip to bottom-placed Southampton. None of the trio featured when the Reds resumed after the October international break with a win over Chelsea at Anfield.

Mac Allister has been ever-present for Liverpool so far this season and has missed only two matches since returning from injury at the start of January.

And asked whether he was mindful of the minutes being played by the World Cup winner given his additional travel demands in recent months, Slot said: "I particularly keep an eye today on the players that come back from South America and that is not only Macca, it’s also Darwin, also Lucho.

"Especially the ones who played two times 90 minutes. You keep an eye on them and see how they are doing, how fit they are, you talk to them a bit more about how they feel than I do with the ones who played in Europe."

The Dutchman will be without Alisson Becker, Diogo Jota, and Federico Chiesa for the trip to Southampton despite all three being back in training with Chiesa having taken part in Friday's full training session.

Trent Alexander-Arnold will also miss the game with Conor Bradley expected to start at right-back but Harvey Elliott is available for selection after being sidelined for almost three months with a fractured foot.