Liverpool return to the English Premier League on a high having just knocked out arch rivals Manchester United from the Europa League on the backbone of two fairly impressive performances.
The same can be expected of the Reds at St. Mary’s where they take on a Southampton side that has been quite inconsistent this year. Ronald Koeman’s side will look to restore some semblance of parity on the pitch to this Liverpool side after having been completely demolished by Jurgen’s Klopp men in the League Cup by 6 goals to 1 earlier in the season.
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The stakes remain high with Southampton level on points with Liverpool, albeit having played two more games. Liverpool will look to continue building momentum for what could turn into a late surge for the Champions League places.
Kickoff and Live Telecast
Channel: Star Sports 2
Date and Time: 20th March, 07:00 P.M. IST
Venue: St. Mary’s Stadium
Team News
Southampton
The St. Mary’s faithful could see Southampton field an almost full strength side now that Sadio Mane has had his Red Card from the Stoke game rescinded. Ronald Koeman will be without Charlie Austin who is struggling with a hamstring strain. Victor Wanyama and Jose Fonte have also returned from suspensions and are expected to start.
Liverpool
Liverpool comes into the game without the services of James Milner who will serve the suspension he received for his red card against Crystal Palace. Alberto Moreno continues to nurse a hamstring problem which sees Jurgen Klopp waiting for the results of a late fitness test right before the game. That aside, Liverpool is expected to field a full strength side which may see the return of Divock Origi to the starting lineup having impressed previously in league outings.
Probable Lineups
Liverpool(4-2-3-1): Mignolet; Clyne, Lovren, Sakho, Flanagan; Emre Can, Henderson; Lallana, Firmino, Coutinho; Origi
Southampton (4-2-3-1): Forster; Cedric, Van Dijk, Fonte, Bertrand, Romeu, Wanyama, Tadic, Davis, Mane, Pelle
Team Form
Southampton
Southampton has had questionable form across the season with unbeaten runs peppered with a few back to back games without wins dominating their form guide. They come into this game with similar results in their last 10 across all competitions with the last five seeing 2 wins, a draw and 2 losses. They do have some momentum with them having grinded out a result at the Britannia where they beat Stoke 1-2.
Last 5 Matches: W-L-L-D-W ( Last Match: Stoke 1-2 Southampton)
Liverpool
Liverpool comes into the game on the bounce of some strong results in their favor. The quality of the performances under Jurgen Klopp keep getting better with each passing game and the trend is expected to continue at St. Mary’s. Liverpool has lost only one game in their last five with that being the Capital One Final which they lost on penalties. Since then this Liverpool side has dominated both Manchester United and Manchester City at Anfield, grinded out a win sensationally against Crystal Palace in an away game and drawn away to Manchester United in the Europa League effectively knocking them out.
Last 5 Matches: L-W-W-W-D (Last Match: Manchester United 1-1 Liverpool)
Key Stats:
- Liverpool have won their last three away games against Southampton in all competitions.
- Liverpool have averaged over 2.5 goals in their last four EPL games.
- Liverpool have scored at least 2 goals in each of their last three away games against Southampton in all competitions.
- Southampton have lost only one of their last six games at St. Mary’s
- Southampton have scored the highest number of headed goals in the Premier League this season.
Key Battles:
Philippe Coutinho vs Cedric
Cedric was brought in the summer to replace a man who will wear the Liverpool shirt on the evening in Nathaniel Clyne. Clyne was considered a key cog in the Southampton setup when he was at St. Mary’s and Cedric has taken to replacing the English right back quite convincingly.
Cedric will however, have his hands full with Phillippe Coutinho having had an impressive night at Old Trafford. Coutinho was at his magical best having completely bamboozled every Manchester United player up against him and scored the important equalizer that eventually knocked the Manchester side out.
Coutinho seems to be growing in stature under Klopp and if Southampton have any hope of stopping this Liverpool side, holding Coutinho down would be key.
Sadio Mane vs Jon Flanagan
Sadio Mane having his red card rescinded is great news for Southampton. Considering the fact that Liverpool have had trouble at fullback off late with Alberto Moreno having suffered from indifferent form and now looking unlikely to feature, Southampton will use the pace and power of Sadio Mane to attack the Liverpool left back which in all likelihood will be Jon Flanagan.
Flanagan has recently returned from a long-standing injury problem and will have his hands full against a player who is used to tormenting anyone up against him. Mane will not have it easy though as Jon Flanagan has the ability to up his game when the occasion calls for it, with the Scouse right back having kept Raheem Sterling in his pocket when up against a Manchester City side few can match up to.
On the evening, however, Flanagan may have to do a job for the Liverpool side at left back. This one battle will definitely set the tone for the evening.
Prediction
Liverpool completely dismantled Southampton in the League Cup which was the last time they met. Jurgen Klopp will want this Liverpool side to keep the momentum from the last few games and would love to see a repeat of the game where they embarrassed Southampton. However, Koeman will have his troops drilled despite their inconsistencies this season and this could be a tighter game. It still seems difficult to see this Liverpool side dropping points at the moment.
Predicted Score: Southampton 1- 2 Liverpool
