Date : Today
Time: 8:00pm
Stadium St. Mary
Referee Paul Tierney (England)
Goal Scorer: 9' Shane Long (Southampton), 36' Naby Keita, 80' Mohamed Salah, 86' Jordan Henderson (Liverpool)
Team News:
Shane Long could be back for Southampton to provide another attacking option. Jannick Vestergaard is unlikely to be ready to return to action. Michael Obafemi remains on the sidelines.
Interesting stats
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg has scored four times in the Premier League, which is double the amount he has scored across his previous six campaigns in league football.
Liverpool’s current total of 79 points is their best return after 32 matches in their Premier League history.
Key Men
Bednarek
The defender has come to the fore under Hassenhuttl and continues to show consistency at the heart of the Southampton defence. Jan Bednarek has taken his time to break into the first eleven, but he is now one of the first names on the team sheet. He will be a relative unknown to many in this country. This Friday’s match provides an opportunity for him to emerge out of the shadows and increase his developing reputation. Liverpool have a dynamic attack that creates a lot of chances, which means there will be a lot of work for the centre back to undergo. Against Brighton, he made huge contributions as the club earned a credible clean sheet. He made three interceptions and made seven clearances as he more than played his part in the shut out. At the age of 22, he has huge potential and there is every chance that he earns Southampton a major windfall in the future if he continues to develop.
Salah
This season has been an odd one for Mohamed Salah. He continues to produce a huge number in the final third, but he has faced unfair criticism due to some comparing him to last season’s output. It would have been incredible for the Egyptian to reproduce those number this year. The fact that he has managed to contribute 17 goals and seven assists in the Premier League shows impressive consistency from Salah. In fact, he deserves tremendous credit as he is now being closely marked by opposition sides aware of the danger that he does pose. Although he continues to cause problems for opposition teams, it would be a major boost for Liverpool if he was to return to scoring ways against Southampton ahead of a massive few weeks in the club’s history. If he manages to do that, they will enter the closing weeks an even more dangerous outfit than they already are.
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