Southampton – Liverpool

The Premier League’s best and worst teams will exchange goals in the League Cup

Southampton returned to the Premier League this season, but did not immediately start grabbing stars from the sky of the elite division. The first half of the season for the Saints can be characterized as a failure. It's rare for a newcomer to the division to pick up only five points in fifteen rounds. Not to say that the team is not trying, but there is every indication that the English League Cup may be the only outlet for the team this season. Liverpool are phenomenal right now and have kept the mark literally since the first matches under Slot, leading in every competition they take part in. Southampton started the cup competition at the 1/32 final stage, when they were the luckier side in a 5-3 goal shootout with Cardiff City. In the next round, the Saints settled the issue not in a penalty shoot-out with Everton, as in the Welsh capital. At the last stage, Southampton turned the tide against Stoke City in their favour with a 3-2 win in the 88th minute. Liverpool started the tournament in the 1/16 finals by defeating West Ham 5-1. In the last match of the League Cup Merseysiders at the expense of three goals Gakpo (twice) and Diaz overcame the resistance of Brighton - 3:2. Bookmakers have logically identified the visitors as favourites for the upcoming meeting, offering odds of 1.34 on their victory. Southampton in fifteen meetings in the Premier League this season took points from three opponents. With Everton, the "saints" got the only victory, and with Ipswich Town and Brighton parted peace. Southampton's schedule also includes a game against Liverpool at the same ground where the rivals will meet on Wednesday. Already in the first half the teams exchanged goals, and in the 56th minute Southampton unexpectedly took the lead. In the second half, Liverpool's class affected the result and Salah's two goals gave the visitors the three points. In addition, Southampton scored one goal each against Arsenal, Chelsea and Brighton in the first half of the season. Liverpool last round lost points in the Premier League, which has a much higher value for the club than the League Cup. And the points loss was the second in a row. Given that three full days after the match at the Stadium of Light, Slot's team will play in London against Tottenham, it is unlikely that the Dutch specialist will put out the main squad. The teams will exchange goals.