Overview
Southampton have almost put one foot in the Championship next season. They have only 9 points after 27 matches and are 13 points away from safety. Not many people can hope for a miracle for Southampton, because they played so badly and weakly.
The 2-1 victory over Ipswich Town in round 24 is no longer meaningful, as Southampton have lost 3 consecutive matches since then and conceded 11 goals.
Therefore, Southampton will visit Liverpool's Anfield with a serious decline in spirit. In contrast to their opponents, Liverpool are dominating the top of the rankings with a gap of 13 points over second-placed Arsenal. The Reds are close to winning the Premier League this season.
The Kop's biggest problem is probably just the physical condition of the players. They just had an extremely difficult match against Paris St Germain in the Champions League despite still having a minimal victory.
Not to mention, Mohamed Salah is also in the vegetarian month of Ramadan and could affect the Egyptian superstar's performance. Salah was disappointed in the win over PSG and was substituted in the second half.
Of course, the gap between the two teams is still too big, and fitness is not a concern for Arne Slot's side. Liverpool is currently the team with the best attack in the league with 66 goals and has the second best defense with 26 goals conceded.
Meanwhile, Southampton have the worst attack in the Premier League with only 19 goals, along with the worst defense with 65 goals conceded. With a big difference in form, class and home advantage, Liverpool will still know how to win over their opponents.
This is the third meeting between the two teams this season. Southampton lost 2-3 at St Mary's in the Premier League and then continued to lose 1-2 in the Carabao Cup. Liverpool have won 7 of their last 8 meetings, with the remaining match being a dramatic 4-4 draw in 2023.
Personnel situation
Conor Bradley and Joe Gomez are the only Liverpool stars to be injured in this match.
On the other side of the front line, Southampton will be without the services of Juan Larios, Ross Stewart, Ryan Fraser, Jan Bednarek and Adam Lallana.
Expected lineup:
Liverpool: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Quansah, Konate, Tsimikas, Endo, Jones, Szoboszlai, Elliot, Diaz, Nunez.
Southampton: Ramsdale, Walker-Peters, Harwood-Bellis, Sugawara, Bree, Bella-Kotchap, Aribo, Smallbone, Fernandes, Dibling, Onuachu.
The match between Liverpool and Southampton takes place at 22:00 on March 8 (Vietnam time).
