Liverpool scraped a win against Spurs on Sunday in a game the Reds could have easily lost. After also having struggled to put away Fulham, a trip to Southampton on Friday night looks likely to be another tough test.
Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side have recently beaten Tottenham at home, and have got themselves out of relegation trouble following a win away at Brighton last time out which sees them sitting in 16th place in the Premier League 5 points clear of Cardiff City in 18th place, the last relegation position.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp will be sweating over the fitness of key defender Virgil van Dijk heading into the fixture. The Dutchman injured his ankle in the closing stages of the 2-1 win over Spurs and is a slight doubt for the game.
Joe Gomez and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are both short of match fitness following long spells out with injury and won’t be in contention to start on Friday.
The bookmakers have unsurprisingly made Liverpool favourites for this one. You can get a good look at the best odds at Spin Sport where bookies have the Reds at 20/49 to win. A draw is priced at 15/4 while a victory for Southampton is currently 7/1.
As mentioned above, for Liverpool to win it would seem as though the key man is van Dijk who has been the foundation of Liverpool conceding the fewest League goals plus of course the obvious improvement in the goalkeeping position from Alisson to the Reds who consulted Roberto Firminio before he made the big move to Merseyside.
Liverpool’s Predicted XI To Face Southampton:
Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Matip, van Dijk, Robertson, Wijnaldum, Fabinho, Lallana, Salah, Firmino, Mane
For the Saints, Shane Long is a doubt after missing the win against Brighton with a groin strain. The South Coast club could also be missing Jan Vestergaard with the Danish defender struggling with a similar injury.
Young striker Michael Obafemi has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a hamstring problem, while Danny Ings is ineligible to play against his parent club.
Southampton’s Predicted XI:
Gunn, Valery, Bednarek, Yoshida, Stephens, Bertrand, Romeu, Hojbjerg, Ward-Prowse, Redmond, Austin
Predicted Score – 1-0 to Liverpool
