Tensions will be high among the fans when Liverpool visit Southampton this weekend. The Reds have plundered Southampton time and time again in recent years for their star players, so Saints fans are not particularly well disposed to Liverpool. But Southampton keeps reinvesting the cash wisely and remaining highly competitive, and they should give the table toppers a really tough game on Saturday.
Liverpool have been a revelation under Jurgen Klopp this season, pressing hard and high, attacking with verve and flair and causing all sorts of trouble to opposing defences. At the heart of their attacking play has been Sadio Mane and Adam Lallana, signed for a combined £55 million from Southampton in recent years. Liverpool’s ranks also include former Southampton stars Nathaniel Clyne and Dejan Lovren, while Rickie Lambert also made the trip up north to take the tally to five transfers. That almost makes Southampton a feeder club to Liverpool, but they have barely suffered. Southampton’s strengths are their exceptional youth academy and their remarkable resilience to losing key staff. They always have a backup plan and rise phoenix-like from the flames when everyone writes them off. They achieved financial stability and security by selling off the likes of Gareth Bale, Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and won promotion to the Premiership for the 2012-13 season. They then started climbing up the Premiership table thanks to players like Lallana, Sane, Lambert and Graziano Pelle. Their displays have always caused bigger teams to take note, and they have lost several key players. But they always drive a hard bargain, secure a large transfer fee and reinvest well.
That has seen Southampton finish higher up the table each season: 14th, 8th, 7th and then 6th last season. They lost manager Mauricio Pocchetino to Tottenham. No bother, they brought in Ronald Koeman and he was a revelation. He has now gone to Everton but new boss Claude Puel has slotted in seamlessly. Saints are 11th in the table, but they have started slowly in the past and steadily climbed the league. The Premiership is more competitive than ever this year and they may struggle to top last season’s sixth, with Liverpool, Chelsea, Man City, Arsenal, Tottenham and Man Utd all harbouring title aspirations, but nobody would be surprised if Southampton finished ahead of Koeman’s Everton, Leicester, West Ham and Stoke to claim seventh. Their form has been inconsistent so far and they have lost their last two league games, against Chelsea and Hull, but they sandwiched a fantastic 2-1 win over Inter in the Europa League, and before that Southampton secured a great draw with Man City.
That suggests they can be the team to finally bring the Liverpool bandwagon to a juddering halt. Liverpool have been eviscerating teams of late and have deservedly become second favourites for the league after topping the table for the first time under Klopp. Philippe Coutinho, Roberto Firmino, Lallana and Mane have been unplayable at times, and Jordan Henderson and James Milner have formed a solid midfield partnership. There has been a sense of inevitability in watching them beat teams recently. Watford were in good form but were powerless to stop Liverpool scoring six. They have also beaten West Brom, Tottenham and Crystal Palace to make it four wins on the bounce, but question marks remain over their defence. They were abysmal against Palace and needed the forwards to get them out of trouble in that 4-2 victory. And Southampton are a tougher nut to crack than Watford or Palace. Virgil van Dijk and Rui Fonte are a strong defensive partnership and Nathan Redmond, Dusan Tadic and Charlie Austin are a handful up front. Southampton-draw double chance looks a good bet at 1.83 among Green Listed Bookmakers such as Pinnacle, Bet365 and Will Hill.
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