Liverpool vs Southampton

Anfield is the venue as third-placed Liverpool entertain a topsy-turvy Southampton side in a seemingly routine Premier League task for the home side.

Fresh from a 2-0 win over Porto in midweek Champions League action, Liverpool return to their third home fixture in a row, looking to build on a 4-0 thumping of Arsenal last time out. After a nightmarish run of six consecutive league defeats at home between late January and early March, the ‘Reds’ have turned Anfield into a fortress again, going unbeaten in their last 15 competitive matches here (W10, D5). Too hot to handle in front of goal, Jurgen Klopp’s men have netted a league-high 35 goals in the Premier League this term (2.91 on average). What’s more, they enter this round as the only team in England’s top-flight to have found the net in all 12 league games this season, scoring 2+ goals in the last nine in a row.

Liverpool’s impressive home form looks likely to go on as they go up against a mid-table Southampton side that have lost their last four Premier League fixtures at Anfield by an aggregate score of 12-0. Tucked in a mid-table lethargy, the ‘Saints’ fell to a 2-1 defeat to newly-promoted Norwich City last time out, effectively ending a run of four successive league games without a loss (W3, D1). Curiously, each of Southampton’s three wins in that four-match sequence featured an identical 1-0 scoreline. Topically, ten of Southampton’s 12 Premier League outings this season have yielded a full-time margin of under 1.5 goals, highlighting the potential for a tight contest. Worryingly, though, Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men have lost 13 of their 17 Premier League away matches this calendar year (W2, D2), more than any other side in that time while conceding a staggering 43 goals in that run.