Liverpool – Southampton (Premier League)
Liverpool and Southampton face each other this Sunday, at Anfield Stadium (Liverpool). This is a match of Premier League´s 36th round. After a crucial 1-0 win at Watford, liverpool arrive here with a certain satisfaction with 4 points clear of 5th place. Southampton, on their turn, arrive here after a poor 0-0 home draw against Hull city.
Liverpool hold the 3rd place in the table with 69 points, that come from 20 wins, 9 draws and 6 defeats, with 71 goals scored and 42 conceded in the process. The team has been presenting good performances under Jurgen Klopp, since in their last 5 official matches, in this competition, they have won 3 matches, drew 1 and lost the other one. This sequence of results started with a 2-2 home draw against Bournemouth, that was followed by a 1-2 away win against Stoke City, a 0-1 away win against West Bromwich, a 1-2 home loss against Crystal Palace, and as mentioned before, a 0-1 away win against Watford.
At home, so far, the team has played 17 matches: won 11, drew 4 and lost 2, that is, they have been been making good use of the home advantage, since, this season, they have only lost twice. In addition, they have scored consistently: they have 42 goals scored and 18 conceded. Fearless in attack and strong in defense, Liverpool will have to keep winning in order to be top four this season.
Danny Ings, Ejaria and Sadio Mané are out due to injury. Jordan Henderson is a questionable player.
Probable Lineup: Mignolet – Clyne, Lovren, Matip, Milner – Wijnaldum, Leiva, Can – Lallana, Sturridge, Firmino.
Southampton sit in 9th position in the table with 41 points, which comes from 11 victories, 8 draws and 14 defeats, with 39 goals scored and 44 goals conceded. Only 3 points below the 8th place, West Brom, and having two games in hand, the team has been presenting some irregular results, since in their last 5 official matches, in this competition, they have won 2 matches, drew 1 and lost the other two. This sequence of results started with a 3-1 home win against Crystal Palace. This result was followed by a 0-1 away win against West Bromwich, a 0-3 home loss against Manchester City, a 4-2 away loss against Chelsea, and in their last clash as mentioned before, a 0-0 home draw against Hull City.
Away from home in the Premier League so far, the team has played 17 matches: won 5, drew 3 and lost 9. Their form away from home haven’t been very effective, since in these 17 away matches they have 22 goals scored and 26 conceded. However, they have won 3 of their last 5 away matches. But still, they are winless in their last 3 matches, in the league.
Liverpool has only won 2 of their last 5 direct confronts against Southampton, in the Premier League, drawing 2 and losing the remaining other one.
Alex McCarthy, Virgil van Dijk and Sam McQueen are out due to injury.
Probable Lineup: Forster – Cédric, Stephens, Yoshida, Bertrand – Ward-Prowse, Romeu, Davis – Tadic, Gabbiadini, Redmond.
Making good use of the home advantage, more talented and better organized, Liverpool will create better chances and Saints will be struggling at Anfield Stadium.
