Last season 1-0

Odds Liverpool 8/13, Draw 10/3, Southampton 13/2

Liverpool might be without a 100% record but they are still the early season pace setters with 10 points from 12 as they sit at the top of the table. Southampton are the visitors to Anfield who have shown a degree of promise in their opening four matches and probably feel they should have more points, especially after their game against West Ham last weekend. They’re solidly in mid-table on five points.

On the injury front Liverpool are without Phillipe Coutinho who sustained a shoulder injury against Swansea and will be out until the end of October, whilst Glen Johnson and Aly Cissokho are continuing their recovery from injuries. There are still question marks over the fitness of Daniel Agger who missed Liverpool's 2-2 draw with Swansea on Monday night, whilst Southampton may be without left-back Luke Shaw as he was substituted late on against West Ham.

Last time they met

Southampton 3-1 Liverpool – Premier League March 2013

Southampton under new boss Mauricio Pochettino took another big name scalp with this victory at St Mary’s. The Saints started as they meant to go on as Morgan Schneiderlin gave the Saints the lead within six minutes. Their lead was doubled just after the half hour mark as Rickie Lambert’s deflected free-kick wrong-footed Liverpool keeper Brad Jones to end up in the back of the net. Phillipe Coutinho pulled one back for Liverpool on the stroke of half time but Liverpool couldn’t find an equaliser as Jay Rodriguez picked up the ball inside his own half and managed to secure a vital three points for the home side in the fight against the drop, and practically end Liverpool’s slim chances of a top four finish.

Here are five players to watch in this weekend’s game:

Luis Alberto:

After his hat-trick in midweek for the under 21’s, Alberto could be in line to take the place of Phillipe Coutinho at the head of Liverpool’s midfield. If he does get the nod it will be interesting to see how much Coutinho’s missed and just how good 20-year-old Alberto is.

Daniel Sturridge:

Sturridge has started the season by becoming the first Liverpool player in 26 years to score in each of the first for games of the season. He admitted after the Swansea game on Monday that he still didn’t feel 100% fit, how will he do against Southampton?

Dani Osvaldo:

Southampton’s record signing has looked threatening but has yet to bag his first goal for the club, and with still a bit of uncertainty with Liverpool’s back four, could Osvaldo’s time come?

Lucas:

The last time the two sides met, Lucas was a big miss to the starting line-up and Southampton took full advantage so a good commanding performance from Liverpool’s number 21 will go a long way to getting a good result for the home side.

Morgan Schneiderlin:

He seemed to be everywhere in last week’s game against West Ham and if he can have a similar type of game against Liverpool, he could cause some problems.

image: © faisalzaman