Liverpool have again hired a private jet to ensure Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino return to Merseyside with extra time to rest and train prior to Saturday's trip to Southampton.

The Brazil duo are in action in a World Cup qualifier against Peru in the early hours of Wednesday morning, with Coutinho already having played a starring role in a 3-0 win over Argentina.

And the Reds are thought to have paid out £30,000 to charter a flight alongside Premier League rivals Chelsea and Manchester City and Ligue 1's Paris Saint-Germain - all of whom are contributing towards the £120,000 flight.

Chelsea winger Willian and centre-back David Luiz will also be on board, while City midfielder Fernandinho and PSG captain and centre-back Thiago Silva are also on the flight.

The private flight will allow the pair to return early from South America, in time to undergo two days' of training sessions, rather than just one day. It will leave shortly after the game finishes and is expected to land some time on Wednesday evening.

Reds hopeful extra time can pay dividends

Liverpool did so in the previous international break to allow Coutinho and Firmino time to recover before a home clash with Manchester United in mid-October.

Scheduling of that fixture, which was on a Monday night, allowed them a near full week of training in the build-up - but Coutinho sat out of the win over Leicester City in September having only returned a few days before.

And their involvement at St Mary's is far from certain due to their late returns, although Jürgen Klopp is hopeful that extra recovery and training time should help them to be fit enough to start.

The two have scored six goals each in all competitions so far this season, with Firmino the manager's first-choice striker and Coutinho's sensational form establishing him as one of the best players in the Premier League at current.

Klopp will undoubtedly hope to have the two Brazilians, who have helped the Reds to score 30 goals in just 11 league games this term and to the summit of the table after their 6-1 win over Watford a fortnight ago.