Sunday, November 24, 2024

Liverpool aim to increase Premier League lead at Southampton – live updates

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Pep Guardiola admits Manchester City feeling ‘fragile’ after fifth straight defeat

Premier League leaders Liverpool travel to Southampton as they look to increase their lead over reigning champions Manchester City to eight points ahead of next weekend’s Anfield showdown.

Arne Slot’s side entered the weekend top of the table with a five point advantage after an incredible start under their new boss and a 2-0 victory over Aston Villa before the international break.

And City’s stunning 4-0 defeat to Tottenham on Saturday night, Pep Guardiola’s fifth defeat in a row in all competitions, means the Reds can open up a clear gap at the top of the table before hosting the champions next weekend.

Russell Martin’s Saints secured their first win of the season when they faced Everton in their last home fixture but they were defeated in a crucial clash with Wolves last time out. They are bottom of the table and desperately need to turn around their form or else they’ll face the drop back into the Championship.

Follow all the action with our live blog below:

Southampton vs Liverpool LIVE

(Getty Images)
(Getty Images)

Chris Wilson24 November 2024 13:50

Match facts

Liverpool’s last Premier League game against Southampton was a 4-4 away draw in May 2023 – they conceded as many goals in that game as they had in their previous six visits to St Mary’s combined.

So far, the Reds have won nine of their 11 Premier League games under new head coach Arne Slot (D1 L1). A win over Southampton will see the Dutchman become the joint-fastest manager to reach 10 wins from the start of a Premier League career (12 games), alongside Guus Hiddink in May 2009 and Carlo Ancelotti in November 2009 (both with Chelsea).

Mohamed Salah has both scored and assisted in the same match 35 times in the Premier League (including four already this term), just one shy of Wayne Rooney’s record of 36 games with both a goal and assist in the competition. The Egyptian has been directly involved in 11 goals (7 goals, 4 assists) in 11 Premier League appearances against Southampton.

Chris Wilson24 November 2024 13:45

Is Southampton vs Liverpool on TV?

With around 20 minutes until kick-off, here’s a reminder of how you can watch today’s earlier game.

The Premier League fixture will kick off at 2pm BST on Sunday 24 November at St Mary’s, Southampton.

What TV channel is it on and how can I watch?

It will be shown live on Sky Sports Main Event and Premier League, with coverage starting from 1pm. If you’re not a Sky customer, you can grab a NOWTV Day Pass here to watch without a subscription.

If you want to stream major sporting events while you are travelling or watching from abroad you’ll need a VPN. Get the best VPN deals in the UK. Viewers using a VPN need to make sure that they comply with any local regulations where they are, and also with the terms of their service provider.

Chris Wilson24 November 2024 13:40

Match facts

Southampton have won just one of their last 14 Premier League games against Liverpool (drawn three, lost 10) – a 1-0 home victory in January 2021.

However, the Saints have only lost one of their last eight Premier League home games against sides starting the day top of the table (W2 D5), and are unbeaten in their last four (W2 D2 – including a 1-0 win over Liverpool in January 2021) since a 0-1 defeat to Manchester City in May 2018.

They are the lowest scorers in the Premier League this season (with seven goals), while only Crystal Palace (5.1 per cent) have a lower shot conversion rate than Saints (6.2 per cent). Just 30.1 per cent of Southampton’s shots have been on target this term (34/113), a league-low ratio.

Overall, Southampton have lost nine of their 11 Premier League games this season (W1 D1). Only seven sides in English top-flight history have reached 10 defeats in 12 or fewer matches from the start of a campaign, with all seven going on to be relegated.

Chris Wilson24 November 2024 13:35

Martin: “It’s such an exciting month”

Russell Martin called December an “exciting month” in his press conference, adding that “we should be excited about the challenge”.

“We showed the guys the table how it looked at this point last season, and how much it changed by the end of December. It’s such an exciting month.

“People talk about the difficulty of the games and the level of competition we face in the next four or five games, but it’s what we’ve worked so hard for and we should be excited about the challenge.

“Teams have shown in recent weeks that you can pick up big results against big teams and good opposition. We’re going to have to at some point if we’re going to achieve what we want to achieve.”

He added that Liverpool are “the best team in the country at the moment on current form”, and went on to praise Arne Slot’s start as boss.

“When you go into a club that’s built on something for so long with top players that have bought into that, he hasn’t changed too much. It’s the best management at that point to continue some of the brilliant things they were good at, and put his own spin on it, which he has done.”

Chris Wilson24 November 2024 13:30

Form guide

Liverpool have of course been on excellent form of late, and their last five matches have thrown up four wins and a draw – a hard-fought 2-2 against Arsenal at the Emirates.

In the meantime, they’ve beaten teams such as Brighton, Chelsea and Aston Villa in the league, while also landing convincing wins over Bayer Leverkusen and RB Leipzig.

Southampton’s results could hardly be more different, with the Saints sitting bottom of the league and with four losses and one win from their last five.

That win came against Everton, with recent losses against Arsenal, Leicester, Man City and Wolves. As things stand, Russell Martin’s side are five points adrift of Wolves in 17th.

Chris Wilson24 November 2024 13:20

Slot: “Other teams are capable of having the same runs as us”

Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Arne Slot said that “it would be a bit strange if I said I’m not enjoying the position we are in now but it has also been 11 games”.

“We all know other teams are capable of having the same runs as us. We like where we are so if we want to stay there, we have to keep winning games.

“I am not so worried about the first game after the break. My worry is always the game plan of our opponents. It can have a bit of influence but the most influence is our game plan and our intensity compared to who we are playing.”

Slot also added that Southampton are “bottom of the league but they don’t play at all like this”, so today will “be another challenge” for his side.

Chris Wilson24 November 2024 13:15

Match facts

This will be the first Premier League match between the side starting the day bottom of the table and the side starting the day top since April 2023 – Southampton’s 3-3 draw away to Arsenal. League leaders are unbeaten in 14 such matches (W12 D2) since Wolves won 2-1 against Manchester United in February 2011.

Chris Wilson24 November 2024 13:10

Head-to-head

Today will be the 97th match between these two sides – Liverpool have won 50 so far, with Southampton winning 24 and 22 ending as draws.

These two sides did meet last season despite Southampton being in the Championship – Liverpool ran out 3-0 winners in an FA Cup tie in February.

The last time these two sides met in the league was in May 2023, when they played out a 4-4 draw!

Chris Wilson24 November 2024 13:05

Team news

Arne Slot has made three changes to the side that beat Villa last time out, with one of them a forced change as Conor Bradley replaces the injured Trent Alexander-Arnold.

In midfield, Dominik Szoboszlai comes in for Alexis Mac Allister, while on the left wing Cody Gakpo replaces Luis Diaz.

Chris Wilson24 November 2024 13:00

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