Southampton will begin life after Russell Martin when they host high-flying Liverpool in the EFL Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday.
Sunday’s 5-0 hammering by Tottenham proved the final straw for Martin. The former Scotland defender was dismissed after that dismal showing left Southampton nine points adrift of safety at the bottom of the Premier League table.
Under-21s manager Simon Rusk will step up on an interim basis as Southampton search for Martin’s replacement, though there are not much tougher tasks than an opening game against the league leaders.
Arne Slot’s men are two points clear at the Premier League summit and with a game in hand on their rivals, but the Dutchman will be keen to put Liverpool’s title quest to one side as he aims to take a step closer to his first piece of silverware on Merseyside.
Liverpool managed a 2-2 draw with Fulham in their last outing on Saturday, despite having Andy Robertson sent off after just 17 minutes when the Reds were already trailing to Andreas Pereira’s opener.
This is the first time Liverpool have reached the last eight of the EFL Cup as defending champions, since they won the competition four seasons in a row between 1980-81 and 1983-84.
Liverpool have won six of their last seven meetings with Southampton in all competitions (D1), scoring two or more goals in all of those clashes.
Credit: theanalyst.com
