Jurgen Klopp takes his Liverpool side to Southampton on Wednesday night looking to stake a claim for a spot in the EFL Cup final for the second season in a row.

The first leg of the tie could see the much-anticipated return of midfielder Philippe Coutinho for the Reds after Klopp revealed that the Brazilian is now "fit enough" having recovered from an ankle injury that has kept him out since late November.

James Milner (calf) is also back in contention but Jordan Henderson (heel), Marko Grujic (tendon) and Joel Matip (ankle) will not be ready in time.

Klopp has also revealed that Loris Karius is "pretty likely" to retain his place between the sticks for the encounter, having come in for Simon Mignolet for the goalless draw with Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup third round on Sunday.

Adam Bogdan and Danny Ings are both longer-term absentees with knee injuries.

For the hosts, manager Claude Puel has revealed that wantaway skipper Jose Fonte will not feature for the Saints amid speculation that he will join Klopp's side this month.

Attacking midfielder Sofiane Boufal had been due to feature for Morocco at the Africa Cup of Nations this month but has been ruled out of the competition with a knee injury and is likely to remain on the sidelines until the end of the month.

Cedric Soares is back in contention after missing Saturday's 2-2 FA Cup draw at Norwich City with a head injury picked up in the last league game, a 3-0 defeat at Everton, while Cuco Martina also missed the Canaries game with an illness but is now fit again.

Alex McCarthy is not quite ready to feature following a hamstring injury suffered last October, although Puel has confirmed that young midfielder Jake Hesketh is now back in full training after a few months out.

Long-term absentees include Matt Targett (hamstring), Charlie Austin (shoulder) and Jeremy Pied (knee).