x

Southampton At Liverpool The Preview

Four months of poor results are catching up with Saints now in terms of League position and now we go to Anfield traditionally not a place we often get a result at, but things haven't gone well for Liverpool either, so can we get three points to guarantee safety and move up the table again.

Newcastle's shock win at Leicester City last night was good news for Liverpool but bad news for Saints fans, Newcastle who a few weeks ago looked odds on for a last day relegation nail biter at Fulham are now up to 13th and two points above us, the good news is that we have two games in hand.

But for Liverpool it has given them a slight ray of hope, they are 9 points behind Leicester who sit in 3rd place still, but they too have two games in hand and they know if they can win them both they have a chance albeit slight of coming in on the rails for a Champions League place.

This will be the rallying cry from Jurgen Klopp to his players and no doubt this will stir their emotions in terms of their bank accounts.

The Reds are still not guaranteed even a Europa League spot and they now have no room for yet more points dropped at home.

But they like Saints have injury woes, but although that has made them vulnerable at the back, they can still be a potent force going forward, although at Anfield they seem to be mainly cold of late, although as we know from experience when a team hasn't won for a number of games or a certain player hasn't scored for three years, you just know that will end when they face Saints.

The good news for Saints though is that they will have Jannik Vestergaard available after his red card and suspension was overturned on appeal.

But that poses a dilemma for Ralph Hasenhuttl does he restore Vestergaard to the middle of the defence or does he keep the back four as it ended the game against Leicester or indeed does he revert to a back three and employ wing backs to counter Liverpool's attacking threat down the flanks.

This is going to be the most interesting question that will be answered an hour before kick off.

Sadly it looks like Saints will be without Danny Ings who was the matchwinner back in January, although it looks like he and Oriol Romeu will be available for the final games of the season.

One person who will be playing though is Fraser Forster who will rotate with Alex McCarthy in the run in to the end of the season.

For Saints it is now all about having a strong finish to the season and in truth once we get this game out of the way we have a good chance of doing that.

There are positive whispers coming out of St Mary's about next season with rumours of a new owner and investment and that will surely please Ralph Hasenhuttl who has seen a promising season ruined by injury.

A trip to Anfield is usually not good for Saints, certainly not in the last few years since our last win there when Shane Long scored in the League Cup semi final four years ago, the Reds attack with pace and that is something we are not good at handling, however it may suit us to sit deep and then go on the counter attack.

Sadly a defeat will mean the League table won't look very good come the end of the weekend's fixtures, but as I say let's get this one over with and then concentrate on three straight home games to get us up the table.

What to read next:

Leeds fighting spirit wins through as we beat Swansea to go top
Leeds were twice behind in this incredible game at Swansea City, and then seemed to have victory snatched away right at the death. But each time we fought back and our sheer determination finally secured the victory that we needed to finish the weekend on top of the Championship.
Swansea Awaydaze
Our visit to Swansea City is on Sunday with a 3pm kick-off, and once again we’re being televised live on Sky Sports, which will be handy for those of us who can’t get to South Wales on a Sunday.
Farke complains bitterly about Firpo suspension
We had a surprise yesterday morning, as we found out that that Junior Firpo had been given a three match suspension as a result of an incident in the match at Millwall. Our manager has complained about the short notice when he was preparing his team to face QPR, and about the FA’s process itself.
Leeds labour to victory over stubborn QPR
We made hard work of winning this game, but we finally put the match beyond Queens Park Rangers with a second goal deep into injury time, sending the visitors to the bottom of the table.
Farke happy with the performance despite defeat
Daniel Farke has claimed that his team were excellent last night, but many others disagree, after we failed to get past an organised defence yet again, and Millwall were able to hang on to all three points.
Millwall Awaydaze
On Wednesday night we can once again look forward to another fun-packed visit to Millwall on Sunday with kick off at 7.45. You’ll find the New Den in a really pleasant part of South-East London, but if you’re not heading this way, there is always the option of watching the game live on Sky Sports plus.
Leeds coast to comprehensive win over Plymouth
The goalscoring was confined to an eight minute period towards the end of the first half, but Leeds were so dominant throughout the entire 90 minutes that Plymouth Argyle didn’t manage a single shot on goal.
Farke feels Leeds should have come back from Ashton Gate with a win
Leeds had more of the possession and created the better chances against Bristol City, so it feels a little frustrating that we didn’t take all three points.
Bristol City Awaydaze
It will be an early start if you’re making a day trip to Bristol City on Saturday, as kick-off is at 12.30pm, thanks to our very good friends at Sky Sports. You’ll find Ashton Gate about 2 miles to the south-west of the city centre.
Leeds bring in Guilavogui as experienced backup
The club have made a move to bolster the squad by signing 34-year-old Josuha Guilavogui, who can operate in a number of defensive positions. Subject to obtaining a work permit, he will now be with us until the end of the current season.