Liverpool to shut down Southampton at St Mary's
Ralph Hasenhuttl has a big job on his hands this season at St Mary’s. Will the German be able to resist the might of Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp or will it be business as usual for the Reds? Have a read of our preview here:
Rough start for the Saints
An away game at Turf Moor on the opening day of the season is not ideal but to see his side beaten 3-0 will have worried Ralph Hasenhuttl. They made Danny Ings a permanent transfer during the summer and also added Che Adams after his impressive spell with Birmingham in the Championship but it was a disappointing opening day.
This is a decent Southampton side and one that has enough quality to improve under the talented German boss but they will need to learn the lessons from the loss at Burnley quickly.
"For 60 minutes it was OK. We knew it'd be a difficult game here - they play very quick, very long. The pressure after the first goal was high but for the next 12 minutes we lost the way we want to play and the game was gone," Hasenhuttl said.
"We learnt that one long ball can kill the game and I think it did. It's a bad start for us but now we have to bring our heads up and focus on the next games."
Liverpool were dominant against Norwich and will take full advantage if Southampton fail to turn up as they did in the second-half at Burnley. It is a tall order but they need to show they can compete and stay in the game – easier said than done.
Alisson injury overshadows Liverpool start
Just when Liverpool find the perfect goalkeeper, they lose him on the first day of the new season. Klopp made light of the situation saying he trusted in Adrian to fill in for the injured Alisson but it is still a huge blow for the Reds.
The Brazilian kept 21 clean sheets last season and will be a hard act to replace even with a defensive core that can boast the talent of Virgil van Dijk. That said, this is an exceptional Liverpool team with plenty of depth in almost every position so this should be another three points for Klopp’s men.
Southampton v Liverpool betting tip
Even though Southampton are at home, they face a Liverpool side that can be devastating when in their stride. It is hard to see, even without Alisson, the Reds struggling to contain the Saints so backing Liverpool to win to nil at odds of 29/20 appear excellent value.
