Southampton v Liverpool: Reds to intensify pressure on the top six

Michael Lintorn
20 March 2016

Liverpool midfielder Adam Lallana will be reunited with former Southampton teammates

Join

Twitter

Facebook

View the Betslip

Liverpool are in great form and are a tasty price to win at Southampton, according to Michael Lintorn...

"The Saints have lost as many of their past 11 encounters at St Mary’s as they have won (five apiece)."

Back Liverpool to win @ 2.89/5

Southampton 2.915/8 v Liverpool 2.89/5; The Draw 3.39/4
Sunday, 13:30

Southampton

The Saints threatened to play themselves out of top-six contention with a three-game lull in which they were beaten by Chelsea and Bournemouth and salvaged a draw at home to lowly Sunderland, but last week's impressive 2-1 success at Stoke has revived their chances.

With fifth-placed West Ham held at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, a victory in this contest would move Ronald Koeman's men back within three points of them, while at least one of Manchester City (fourth) and Manchester United (sixth) will be dropping points to the other later in the afternoon.

The main Southampton team news is that Victor Wanyama is finally back after serving a whopping five-match ban for his third sending off this season (and indeed in the space of 13 top-flight outings) against the Irons last month. Florin Gardos, Charlie Austin and Jay Rodriguez remain sidelined.

Liverpool

It has been a very impressive response to the disappointment of losing the Capital One Cup final on penalties to Man City by Liverpool.

Seeing their best chance of silverware slide away could have encouraged them to feel sorry for themselves or lose focus, yet instead they have hit their finest form of the nascent Jurgen Klopp era.

Three days later, they claimed some revenge on the Citizens with a 3-0 Premier League triumph, before winning 2-1 at bogey club Crystal Palace despite being a goal and man down with 20 minutes to play. Then came the Europa League progress past Man United, and suddenly Champions League qualification seems viable either by lifting that trophy or finishing in the top four.

The injury situation isn't too great though. Sure, Daniel Sturridge is still enjoying his longest spell of sustained fitness this term, but Joe Gomez, Lucas Leiva, Danny Ings and Roberto Firmino are all out and Alberto Moreno and Jordan Henderson may join them.

Match Odds

Punters aren't too sure what will happen here, with these sides tied for Premier League points and Southampton's home record (P15 W7 D3 L5) identical to the figures that Liverpool have posted away. As a result, the guests are slight 2.89/5 favourites to their hosts' 2.915/8 outsiders billing.

The trends favour Liverpool, who haven't suffered a 90-minute defeat in five road trips across all competitions and have endured just one in nine - at leaders Leicester - whereas the Saints have lost as many of their past 11 encounters at St Mary's as they have won (five apiece).

The south coast club have been conquered there by three of the four traditional "Big Six" teams to have visited in the league and were also hammered 6-1 there by Klopp's squad in the Capital One Cup in December.

It is admittedly a worry for the Reds how they will cope without Roberto Firmino, who after taking a little while to acclimatise has transformed into their most important player, starting 12 successive league fixtures and contributing seven goals and five assists in that period.

However, the Brazilian forward didn't play a single minute of the aforementioned 6-1 cup romp against these opponents, so the Merseysiders deserve the benefit of the doubt at 2.89/5.

Next Goal

Liverpool have broken the deadlock in four straight Premier League meetings with the Saints, as well as three of their last four top-tier showdowns with all adversaries. Southampton have been breached first twice already in March, by bottom-half sides Bournemouth and Sunderland, and are 2.186/5 to be confronted by another 1-0 deficit.

Recommended Bet:

Back Liverpool to win @ 2.89/5

Click here to check out more of Betting.Betfair's Premier League coverage

Bet £10 On ACCAS or Bet Builders and Get a £2 Free Bet

Bet £10 on Accas, Multiples or Bet Builders, at minimum combined odds of 2.0 (evens) and once the qualifying bet(s) have settled, you'll get a £2 free bet. Free bet valid 48 hours on Accas, Multiples or Bet Builders. T&Cs apply.