Liverpool v Southampton predictions: Jones unlikely to save struggling Saints

Reds can't afford another slip up in top-four race

Nathan Jones led Luton to sixth in the Championship last season

Nathan Jones swapped Luton for Southampton this weekCredit: Harriet Lander

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Liverpool v Southampton in the Premier League on Saturday.

When to bet

3pm Saturday

Best bet

Liverpool to win & under 3.5 goals
1pt 6-4 bet365

Team news

Liverpool
James Milner has been cleared to play and Naby Keita could return, but Joel Matip is a doubt. Arthur, Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota remain sidelined.

Southampton
Kyle Walker-Peters and Tino Livramento are long-term absentees while Juan Larios faces a late fitness test.

Match preview

Nathan Jones’s first taste of Premier League management sees him take his new Southampton charges to Anfield, but transforming the struggling Saints in the short term looks a steep task.

Scoring goals has been the main problem for Southampton, who have netted just 12 times in 14 Premier League outings, and the only time they have struck in their last five away games came in a fortuitous 1-0 win at Bournemouth.

Jones’s appointment should fire up the Saints and can spark some sort of response, but Liverpool’s extra quality in the final third should eventually settle matters on Merseyside.

Liverpool can ill-afford many more slip-ups if claiming a top-four berth is to remain a realistic target and they are taken to prevail in a game featuring three or fewer goals, something that has happened in four of their five league wins this term.