Prediction: Southampton vs Liverpool

When the likes of Lallana, Lambert and Lovren swapped Southampton for Liverpool, they probably thought they were making a step up, but the current Premier League table would suggest otherwise. The Saints sit four points clear of the Reds ahead of the top 4 showdown at St Mary’s, although it is the Merseyside outfit that are in much better spirits at the moment.

Virtually nobody thought Southampton would be able to keep their results respectable after seeing a host of key men leave in the summer, but the Saints invested the money wisely and with a big help from new boss Ronald Koeman, they are doing even better than last term. While they ended up finishing the previous campaign huge 23 points behind Champions League positions, the St Mary’s outfit occupy the fourth position at the moment with just 13 games to go, although they, nonetheless, face an uphill task. The Saints appear to be on a major downtrend at the moment, mostly because key men Pelle and Tadic are struggling for form, while important midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin was also sorely missed. The Frenchman has resumed full training, but he is still far away from the desired level of fitness, and that could prove to be a problem when facing in-form Liverpool side. Team’s home form have been far from impressive, with the Saints winning mere two of last seven matches at St Mary’s, and having failed to score a single goal in last two, they don’t have too much reason for optimism at the moment. The likes of Jay Rodriguez, Emmanuel Mayuka, Toby Alderweireld and Sam Gallagher continue to miss out, while Shane Long is doubtful and Ryan Bertrand is banned.

Unlike their next opponents, Liverpool have struggled to rediscover the form that had served them so well last season, but it looks as though Brendan Rodgers’ side have hit the ground running in the nick of time. The Reds started playing much better after the former Swansea boss switched to 3-4-2-1 formation, while the return of Daniel Sturridge made them much more dangerous up front. And with everybody at the club determined to help Steven Gerrard enjoy as much success as possible during his final season at Anfield, Liverpool might just turn this campaign into a success after all. The Reds have been playing with a lot of confidence of late, qualifying for the FA Cup quarter-finals, while winning six of last eight Premier League fixtures to seriously improve their Champions League hopes. With even Mario Balotelli back to his scoring ways, things are definitely looking up for Brendan Rodgers’ side and I believe they can be trusted to see off out-of-form Southampton on Saturday. The visitors should Raheem Sterling back to the starting line-up, but Steven Gerrard, Lucas Leiva, Brad Jones and Jon Flanagan are definitely out.

Conclusion

It is perfectly clear that Southampton struggle for form at the moment, with the team facing serious problems in their build-up play and the final third. Meanwhile, Liverpool are playing their best football of the season and still have room for improvement with Daniel Sturridge having recently returned from a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

Verdict: Liverpool Draw no bet

Best Odds: 21/20

Bookmaker: William Hill