Southampton v Liverpool - Premier League
We are in for an exciting match between two sides, both in desperate need of points. On one side, we have Liverpool, who are chasing the first title in 29 years, and on the other side, Southampton, who are just barely above the relegation zone. The match will take place at St. Mary's Stadium in Southampton and it will mark the 2nd H2H match between the two teams.
Southampton are currently sitting at the 16th place in the Premier League with an 8-9-14 record and 33 points. With that, they are 5 points above the relegation zone, which puts them in an unenviable position, which could easily result in them slipping and falling into the bottom three. Nonetheless, Southampton put up good results in the recent matches, which is a promising sign heading into the remaining rounds of EPL. Looking back at their last 5 fixtures, Southampton lost to Arsenal (2:0) and Manchester United (3:2) and won against Fulham (2:0), Tottenham (2:1) and most recently Brighton (0:1). As it stands now, Southampton are on 2 games winning streak after beating Tottenham and Brighton, but to win against Liverpool and make it 3 in a row, they will have to show one of the best performances of the season.
The visiting side, Liverpool are still in a tight title race with Manchester City, who are as of now only 1 point above the Reds. With the same number of games played as Manchester City, Liverpool would reclaim the 1st spot in the league with a win tonight, which would last until April 14th, when City is to face off against Crystal Palace in an away match. As of now, Liverpool are 2nd in the league with a 24-7-1 record and a 4-1-0 in the last 5. While they managed to defeat Watford (5:0), Burnley (4:2), Fulham (1:2) and most recently Tottenham (2:1), Liverpool only managed to grab a point from Everton (0:0). When we talk about the title race, Liverpool looks to be in a much better position compared to Manchester City, who not only have the Champions League matches to attend and duties in the FA Cup, City also has a tougher schedule in the EPL in the remaining rounds. In the end, the title winner will be the one who won't slip and lose or even draw in the remaining 6 rounds.
Southampton had a tough schedule behind them as they had to face off against Arsenal, Manchester United and Tottenham all in the span of the last 2 weeks, but they are still looking strong. What is even more impressive is the win against Tottenham, which arguably saved them from relegation for now. Their coach, Ralph Hasenhuttl is well aware the team is 5 points clear of relegation, however, he stated he will be satisfied only when Southampton reaches 40 points. With that, I do not expect Southampton to put their foot off the gas until they meet their goal.
While it may seem like Liverpool are heavy favourites to win tonight, I have my doubts about how easy this match will be for them. Looking back at the match against Fulham, Liverpool barely won, with a late 81st-minute goal. In the next match against Tottenham, we saw something similar, with a 90th-minute own goal, which gifted Liverpool a win. All in all, Liverpool were far from impressive and arguably had some luck on their side to enter this match with 3 wins in a row. Since Southampton appointed a new manager, they played extremely well, even against top 6 teams. Historically, Southampton wins 50% of the home matches against Liverpool which tells its own story. Taking all into consideration, I don't see a dominant performance from Liverpool who put up mediocre performances in the recent matches. While they have better quality in the team and more depth, anything more than a 1 goal win is unlikely to happen. In fact, I would not be surprised with a draw either. With that in mind, we will bet on Southampton +1.5.
Prediction: Southampton +1.50 Asian Handicap