Southampton vs Liverpool prediction: Salah and Diaz to keep Premier League leaders flying | OneFootball

Top of the Premier League face bottom when Liverpool travel to Southampton on Sunday (2pm, Sky Sports Main Event).

Arne Slot’s league leaders have only suffered one defeat this season, while Saints only have one win on the board. Liverpool were caught cold after the September international break, though, so Russell Martin’s men may feel they can spring a surprise on the south coast.

Slot’s arrival has taken no time to get going. His side’s consistency has the Reds five points ahead of champions Manchester City and nine ahead of Chelsea and Arsenal, a significant gap this early in the campaign.

City’s back-to-back defeats in the Premier League has breathed life into a Liverpool title charge that many fans would have thought unlikely when Jurgen Klopp stepped aside at the end of last season.

Southampton’s objective for the campaign is to simply remain in the top flight. They are already four points adrift of escaping the relegation zone and have only scored seven goals in 11 matches so far, conceding triple that amount.

Liverpool’s visit represents a free hit where gaining any points would be a momentous boost. However, they cannot afford to keep conceding at the rate they are if they are to have any hope of remaining in the division.

Southampton vs Liverpool betting tips: Reds to keep a clean sheet

Liverpool put together back-to-back clean sheets before the international break. The attacking threat of Bayer Leverkusen and Aston Villa was nullified in a big step forward for a backline that has looked vulnerable at times. It’s not a good sign for Southampton who, as mentioned above, average less than a goal a game since returning to the Premier League.

Slot’s decision-making has led to Liverpool tightening up at the back, even without the injured Alisson in goal. Lightening Andy Robertson’s load after he was caught out by Bukayo Saka in the draw with Arsenal was smart.

This has allowed the Scot greater time to recover from a ruthless schedule and given Kostas Tsimikas a proper chance to stake his claim as the club’s best left-back. The competition for a starting berth could bring out the best in both players.

Ibrahima Konate’s improvement is also making a difference. He has benefitted from a consistent run of games after displacing Jarrell Quansah, with his physicality and reading of the game now working well alongside Virgil van Dijk, who is playing sharper football than he has in a while.

The Saints are not prolific in front of goal, and although Cameron Archer has scored a couple of times in the Premier League this term, he shouldn’t trouble a Liverpool defence that has been solid of late.

We’re not expecting the hosts to breach a team that looks good without hitting their full stride yet, an assertion football betting sites are currently backing with confidence for Liverpool to leave St Mary’s Stadium with the three points and a clean sheet.

Mohamed Salah’s eight goals and six assists in the Premier League so far this season only tell half the story. The Egyptian star’s decisiveness just doesn’t stop, even when playing in the more controlled setup that Slot has employed since coming in.

Salah can flit on the periphery of matches before coming to life, his dribbling and finishing as devastating as they’ve ever been. Not bad for a man who many dismissed during the summer, writing him off as another big-name player to join the Saudi league.

On the opposite wing, Luis Diaz is also feeling the benefit of Slot’s tighter gameplan. He’s proving surprisingly versatile, too, offering the usual width when called upon or playing centrally if fitness issues dictate.

Diaz is attacking the box in a far more aggressive manner, opening up positions for him to score that weren’t appearing last season.

His hat-trick against Leverkusen acted as a stark reminder that the Colombian is more than capable of a devastating performances when confident, with betting sites providing intriguing odds on him to return from international duty in goalscoring form on Sunday.

A goal each for Salah and Diaz comes in at 3/1, which could be a worthwhile pick against one of the worst backlines in the Premier League.

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