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Saturday will provide the ideal opportunity for Liverpool to show they are not overly-reliant on any one individual player.

Losing Adam Lallana for the trip to his former club Southampton would be a big blow.

And with question marks also over Philippe Coutinho's involvement, the game will be a first real test of the squad Jurgen Klopp has put together over the last 12 months.

Lallana in particular would be a massive miss.

People talk about the front three of Coutinho, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane, but a big part of their success has been Lallana and his ability to swiftly turn defence into attack and press to win the ball back.

With the disruption of the international break, Liverpool haven't been able to prepare properly for this game, which will be different to most of our previous Premier League fixtures this season.

But the work done on the training ground from pre-season to his point will ensure the players know exactly what is expected of them.

And Klopp now has a pool of players where it's not a case that those coming in will be weakening the side.

It has been a real team effort up to now, and that's been forged on the strength of players coming into the side, showing the right attitude and slotting straight in.

I'd expect to see Daniel Sturridge up front, especially given how he performed against Scotland for England.

I know Sturridge and Divock Origi as a front duo did well at Southampton in the League Cup last season, but I'm not sure you could play them both with Mane also in the side.

Gini Wijnaldum could come in for Coutinho, but that Liverpool have so many options at present makes it a little difficult to second guess Klopp.

There's been some talk this week that Sturridge might be on his way in January, but I can't see that happening.

He is a someone who will have a big part to play for the Reds this season.

What has impressed me about Sturridge is his attitude. He'll have been disappointed not to get on at Crystal Palace the other week, but he didn't mope and in the next Premier League game came off the bench at 5-0 up against Watford and could have had a hat-trick.

He's the most natural finisher in the Liverpool squad and there will be games over the coming months where he could make the difference with his ability to score goals.

Mind you, it's surprising he hasn't yet scored in the Premier League this season.

But he has a good record at Southampton and this would be the ideal time to end that drought.

England being unfair on Henderson

It was disappointing to see Jordan Henderson play the full 90 minutes for England in their friendly against Spain in midweek.

The Spanish used the game as an opportunity to give four or five players a rare run-out, but England had Henderson, John Stones and Eric Dier playing the full match having featured only days earlier against Scotland.

Liverpool – along with Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur – won't be very happy with that.

I just didn't see the benefit of Henderson playing both games. He was excellent against Scotland so, okay, start him against Spain, but why wasn't he substituted at the break?

It's unfair to keep putting such demands on him. He is an honest, hard-working player and he will give everything at Southampton.

But I'd want him a bit fresher at St Mary's, particularly with some of his team-mates having travelled long distances during the past week.

I was at last season's Premier League game at Southampton and, to be honest, you simply couldn't see the game turning around when Liverpool went in 2-0 ahead at the break.

The introduction of Mane for the home side played a key part in that, but Liverpool's second-half collapse was a little bit similar to that in the Europa League final.

Thankfully we haven't seen that this season and, touch wood, we have got rid of it. When you are in complete control of games, you shouldn't be throwing them away like that.

Take your time, Stevie...

I was interested to see Steven Gerrard being linked with the vacant role of MK Dons manager this week.

Every football club in England would want him involved in some position because of his quality and experience as a top-class player.

Personally, I'd love to see him employed at Liverpool in some manner, whether that's an ambassadorial role, first-team coaching or at the Academy working with the next generation.

I hope Steve takes a bit of time on his return from the United States before making his next career decision.

But if he makes what would be a brave choice to take over at MK Dons, I'd wish him nothing but the best of luck.