Southampton v Liverpool preview: Virgil Van Dijk returns to St Mary’s

Virgil van Dijk returns to Southampton for the first time since his £75m move to Liverpool when the sides meet on Sunday, live on Sky Sports Premier League.

If the Saints fail to win, Mauricio Pellegrino’s side will equal a club record of seven home Premier League games without victory.

Pellegrino made 13 appearances for the Reds under Rafa Benitez in 2005, before serving as his assistant at Anfield between 2008-2010.
The Saints’ win at West Brom last week was their first in 13 Premier League games and they could give record-signing Guido Carrillo his first home start for the visit of Liverpool.

Van Dijk is the latest of six players to move from St Mary’s to Anfield since June 2014, for a combined total of £172.5 million, but his arrival has coincided with a spate of late goals conceded by the Merseysiders.

Harry Kane’s 95th-minute penalty in a 2-2 draw with Spurs last Sunday was the fifth they had shipped from the 80th minute onwards since January 1, more than any other team in the Premier League.
Things are going better for the Reds at the other end of the pitch, and they are the top scorers away from home of any club in the top five European leagues this season, with 32 from 13 games.

Team news
Southampton manager Mauricio Pellegrino reported no fresh injury problems ahead of Sunday’s Premier League match against Liverpool.

Striker Manolo Gabbiadini had been carrying a hip problem last weekend against West Brom, where the Italian was an unused substitute in the 3-2 away win.

Charlie Austin, though, remains out as the forward continues to recover from a hamstring injury.
Defenders Ragnar Klavan and Alberto Moreno have recovered from muscle injuries to take their places in the squad.

Right-back Joe Gomez is unlikely to feature because of a minor knee problem while midfielder Adam Lallana returns after a thigh problem.
Opta stats
There has been just one goal scored in the last two meetings between these sides in all competitions at St Mary’s – in the two before that, there were 12 goals scored.
The Reds haven’t conceded in any of their last three Premier League games against Southampton (W1 D2) – indeed, the last player to score against them was current Liverpool player Sadio Mane in March 2016.
Southampton are unbeaten in their six previous Premier League games played on a Sunday this season, though five of those have ended as draws (W1 vs Everton).
Liverpool have only lost one of their last 17 Premier League games, winning 11 and drawing five.
Klopp has won 49 of his 94 Premier League games in charge (D28 L17). Victory here will make him the 45th different manager to record 50 wins in the competition, and he’ll be the ninth fastest to do so in terms of games (95).
Sadio Mane has scored six goals in his last five Premier League appearances at St. Mary’s Stadium.
Merson’s prediction
I was a bit disappointed with Liverpool last weekend, they were given the runaround in the second half by Spurs and didn’t know what to do. In big matches, they generally turn up, and I haven’t seen too many teams do that to them.

With Southampton, it’s down to results earlier in the weekend. Depending on what happens they might be able to stick 10 behind the ball and go for a 0-0, and it might be a bonus. They had a massive result at West Brom last week. I think Liverpool will win, but it could easily be 1-1.

Southampton are nowhere near the worst team, but they could have won more easily – I think they set up too negatively at home when they have got the players to have a go. They could upset a few teams if the reins were off.

PAUL PREDICTS: 1-2 (15/2 with SkyBet)
Betting
Liverpool are marginally odds-on for the victory at 4/5 with Sky Bet, with Southampton priced at 16/5 while the draw is a 14/5 chance. Mohamed Salah heads the first goalscorer betting at 7/2 while Guido Carrillo joins Manolo Gabbiadini in leading the visitors’ side of the market at 13/2 apiece.

There’s £50,000 up for grabs in Super Sunday’s late game with Southampton v Liverpool making up the Sky Sports Fantasy Six-a-Side fixture.
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