With a win over archrival Manchester United two weeks ago, Liverpool FC has now defeated every other English Premier League team this season. The runaway leaders now need only eight victories to seal up their first title of the Premier League era, but they face a potentially dangerous challenge from one of the league’s hottest teams, the surging Saints of Southampton FC, winners of seven in their last 11 matches.
Once apparently a lock for relegation eight seasons after their most recent elevation to the top flight, the Saints now sit at ninth and could put themselves level on points with Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, depending on those teams’ results on Sunday. But Liverpool has won five straight league matches over Southampton, including a 2-0 victory in the second one of the 2019-20 season, according to the BBC .
The Saints, on the other hand, have had moderate success on their recent trips to Anfield with a win in the league and one in the League Cup. Nonetheless, a Liverpool victory on Saturday would equal the record for consecutive Premier League home wins of 20 achieved by Manchester United between March 2011 and March 2012. The Reds have already set a record for either the Premier League or its predecessor, the First Division, with 70 points over their last 20 games.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp recently offered his thoughts on the Saturday match against Southampton in the video below.
Given Liverpool’s seeming unbeatability this season, and despite Southampton’s admirable form coming into the Saturday clash, it is perhaps not surprising that oddsmakers have installed the hosts as the heavy favorites. According to Caesars Casino sportsbook odds published by Bleacher Report , odds on a Liverpool win are set at 29-100 — meaning a wager of $100 brings back a profit of $29.
But Southampton has been given long-shot odds of 91-10, where a $10 bet wins $91 if the Saints become the first team to hand the Reds a defeat in Premier League play this season. Only Manchester United have played the leaders to a draw, way back in October — but Liverpool got a measure of revenge on January 19, cruising to a 2-0 victory.
Since that draw four months ago, Klopp’s team has won 15 consecutive league matches, most recently a 2-0 triumph over West Ham United on Wednesday of this week, according to The Stats Zone .
Liverpool’s second-leading scorer, Sadio Mane, is dealing with a muscle injury and likely to miss the game against the club that brought him to England six years ago, according to the BBC .
The match is scheduled to get underway at 3 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time on Saturday, or 10 a.m. EST and 7 a.m. PST in the United States, with the U.S. telecast carried by NBC Sports Network.