It’s the kings of the castle against the basement boys. Cloud nine against rock bottom. Title favourites against relegation battlers. Whichever way you look at it, the signs look ominous for Southampton against league-leaders Liverpool this weekend.
If you were Southampton manager Russell Martin and your team was bottom of the table and you were up against a team that had won 12 of their last 13 matches in all competitions, how would you be feeling? Nervous, probably, especially when your team has won one Premier League game all season.
That win, a 1-0 victory against Everton earlier this month, is now a distant memory for the Saints after it was followed up with a 2-0 loss to relegation rivals Wolves last time out. That match saw Martin’s men dominate with 71 per cent possession but fail to register a shot on target. His team can play some nice stuff at times but that stat suggests he needs to adapt his methods if Southampton are to have any hope of survival.
Should they attempt to outplay Liverpool this weekend, that will play right into Arne Slot’s hands. We’ve seen how the Reds have excelled on the counter attack, forcing opposition into mistakes with tactical traps. The Saints are at risk of being brutally exposed by this style at St Mary’s on Sunday.
Liverpool have won all but one of their games away from Anfield this season, and that was a draw against title rivals Arsenal. Even against the sternest of defences, Slot’s men tend to find a way. The reason Liverpool are top of the league under Slot is because they can adapt to the challenge put in front of them.
Right now, they are firing on all cylinders with their forward men all hitting the back of the net. Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez, Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo are all enjoying a purple patch in front of goal. Between those four players, they have 11 goals in their last 11 games. Southampton have only scored seven goals in the league so far.
Another factor working against the Saints this weekend is the fact that goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale is out after breaking his finger and so is defender Jan Bednarek. Bednarek had previously played every minute of action in the Premier League this season. Southampton’s chances of picking up a result without those two are much more remote.
Liverpool have opened up a five-point lead over rivals Manchester City at the top of the table and this is undoubtedly a slam-dunk opportunity to potentially extend that advantage. The Reds have a favourable recent record against the Saints and they’ll be confident of continuing that trend. They’ve won 11 of the last 14 meetings between the two teams. Southampton’s last league win over the Reds came in 2021 — and you have to go back to 2016 for the last one before that.
Outside of Ramsdale and Bednarek, Martin will have to do without Will Smallbone and Ross Stewart for this game. Flynn Downes and keeper Gavin Bazunu remain injured.
For Liverpool, they will be without Trent Alexander-Arnold after he pulled out of England duty last week. He joins Diogo Jota, Federico Chiesa and keeper Alisson Becker in missing out on this one. Harvey Elliott is back in contention after two months out following a foot injury
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Southampton vs Liverpool odds
Venue: St Mary’s Stadium — Southampton
Time: 2 p.m. GMT (9 a.m. ET), Sunday
Streaming: Fubo (US only, try for free)
Form guide (league only)
Southampton: 1-1-9, 4 points (20th); L-W-L-L-L
Liverpool: 9-1-1, 28 points (1st); W-W-D-W-W
Match prediction
Southampton 0-3 Liverpool
It would take a brave man to go against Liverpool at St Mary’s this weekend given how consistent the league leaders have been with their front men on fire. Playing the team bottom of the league should only really have one outcome — especially with two of their key players out. It will be a tough ask for Martin’s side and their only realistic chance of success will be if they can keep things tight and hit Liverpool on the counter.
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(Photo credit: Paul Ellis / AFP via Getty Images)