Football : England : Premiership
Saturday 21st September - Kickoff 3:00pm
Liverpool
Liverpool are top of the league after their draw last Monday night at Swansea. 10 points from 12 available is a fantastic start and on Saturday the Reds host Southampton a side that they are big favourites to defeat.
Rodgers has see his side defeat Stoke City, Aston Villa and Manchester United all 1-0. Monday's scoreline wasn't 1-0 for a change but a 2-2 draw with Liverpool failing to win from 1-2 up.
Anfield is a very tough place to visit and Liverpool's record here is excellent of late. 8 games undefeated going back to February with a current run of 3 straight wins, again all by a 1-0 scoreline.
Defensively the side is rock solid, at home Liverpool have shut sides out in 4 straight league games and in 6 of the last 8. With Sturridge on fire at the other end it's a perfect combo and once again 3 points look likely at the weekend.
Southampton
Southampton are hoping that second season syndrome doesn't strike for them as they look to finish midtable following their Premiership survival last year. The Saints occupy 11th place and have 5 points from their 4 games and so far Pochettino will be relatively happy with the start.
Last weekend Southampton played out a 0-0 scoreline with West Ham and had it not been for the Hammers goalkeeper, Southampton would have won the game. The form is ok, on one side they have lost just once in 4 league games but on the other, no win since opening day isn't ideal either.
On their travels Southampton's last 6 results read; (oldest first) W-D-L-D-W-L so it's tough to get a real read on their ability. The Saints keep the ball well and with a young side they have pace on the counter to cause Liverpool problems. Whether they can keep them out at the other end is a concern given how dangerous Liverpool look at the moment.
Betting Verdict
Early team news is that Liverpool are missing Coutinho, Agger, Johnson, Cissokho and Coates with the Brazilian's injury the biggest loss as Suarez remains out because of suspension. The visitors have a fit squad with Shaw and Fox the only doubts but I expect both to make the trip.
In last year's game Liverpool edged home by their favourite winning scoreline at the moment 1-0! Southampton won the return fixture so we should see a decent game of football at Anfield this weekend.
Liverpool have had 4 straight Premier League games go under when at home and in 5 of the last 6. The Saints go even better with 7 straight away games with less than 3 goals scored.
With Coutinho now missing and Sturridge despite his goal at the weekend carrying a knock I suspect another close game tight game with not a great deal of goals. At odds against Unders is the bet here as too many trends and statistics back this up. Like with most under bets an early goal in particular for Southampton kills this bet but I envisage 1-0, 2-0 or best case for the visitors 1-1. Either way there won't be 3 goals given the numbers and at the price it's the best bet for me.
Good Luck
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