Southampton face their toughest game of the season this weekend as they travel to Anfield to face a red-hot Liverpool side.
The Saints come into the match on the back of a heartbreaking draw against Brighton in which Glenn Murray converted a penalty in the final seconds.
As for the hosts, they are in fine form and come into this one on the back of a 3-2 victory over PSG in the Champions League at Anfield on Tuesday.
Domestically, Jurgen Klopp’s side have begun perfectly picking up five consecutive wins, conceding just two goals in the process to be level at the top with Chelsea.
It has been a very different story for Saints, however after collecting just five points from their opening five encounters to see them placed 13th in the table going into this game.
Unsurprisingly, Saints have a poor recent record at Anfield in the league failing to win any of the last four which included one draw along the way two seasons ago.
Liverpool will provide another tough test for Mark Hughes’ side this weekend as they look to build on some promising performances of late, but are heavy underdogs for this one.
Saints have been mixed on the road so far this season, losing at Everton, but picking up victories against Crystal Palace and Brighton in the Carabao Cup and the side is perhaps better suited to be playing on the road than in front of their own supporters.
When the two teams met in the respective fixture last season the hosts ran out easy winners thanks to a brace from Mo Salah and a strike from Philippe Coutinho as they won 3-0.
In terms of team news, Danny Ings is ineligible for this one having joined Saints from Liverpool on a season-long loan deal.
Fellow striker Manolo Gabbiadini is a doubt for after sustaining a hamstring injury in training and will be monitored before the squad travel up to Merseyside.
As for Liverpool, they remain without long-term absentee Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain who is out with a knee injury, while Dejan Lovren and Adam Lallana both have small knocks.
The Saints boss, Hughes has called for his side to be positive this weekend despite the attacking quality which the hosts have at their disposal:
We’re looking forward to it. It’s a big test, we all understand that, it’s not an easy place to go under any circumstances.
At the moment they seem to be in a rich vein of form, playing exceptionally well and getting results so it’s not going to be easy for us but I don’t think that should give us any apprehension. We’ve got to go there, be positive and see where it takes us.
This will be a match which is likely to be dominated by the hosts, but when Saints do create any kind of opportunity they need to take it otherwise it could prove to be a very long afternoon at Anfield for the Saints.
