Southampton vs Liverpool tips: Reds to unload season frustrations on Championship-bound Saints

Southampton will wave farewell to the Premier League as they host Europa League-bound Liverpool at St Mary’s Stadium on Sunday. 

Date, KO time and TV coverage

Premier League, Saturday May 27, Kick-off 4:30pm

Predicted score

Southampton 1-3 Liverpool

Suggested bets

Liverpool win and over 2.5 goals

Over 3.5 goals

Both teams to score

Key stats

Southampton have lost nine of their last 11 Premier Leagues, drawing the other two against Arsenal and Tottenham.

Southampton have conceded 28 goals in their last 11 games.

Liverpool have won their last three away matches against relegation-threatened sides by an aggregate score of 11-2.

Liverpool have won 10 of their last 11 versus Southampton, scoring just shy of three goals on average in those victories.

Southampton vs Liverpool team news

The hosts will be without the services of Che Adams (calf), Armel Bella-Kotchap (hamstring), Romain Perraud (ankle) and Juan Larios (muscle). Mohammed Salisu is questionable with a knock.

James Ward-Prowse is expected to play his final match for Southampton and should be involved from the start.

Darwin Nunez (toe), Thiago Alcantara (hip), Rhys Williams (knock), Naby Keita (muscle), Stefan Bajcetic (groin) and Calvin Ramsay (knee) are unavailable.

Roberto Firmino, James Milner and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain could all feature in their final match as Liverpool players.

Verdict

Southampton will be playing Championship football next season and the disappointing thing is they haven’t put up much of a fight. Saints fans were given hope when Ruben Selles oversaw a 1-0 win over Chelsea.

There was a brief moment of hope when they looked like winning at the Emirates, but they managed to throw away a 3-1 lead. Since then, Southampton have lost their last five.

Liverpool don’t seem to offer much hope of swansong. The Reds have secured Europa League football and can no longer qualify for the Champions League, but they’ll still be dangerous.

Roberto Firmino and James Milner are playing their last game for the club and there could be a feel-good factor about Liverpool at St Marys.

In their last 13 home games, Southampton have beaten lowly Leicester and lost 11 times. Their solitary draw against Tottenham came via a fortuitous penalty that shouldn’t have been.

Newcastle, Brighton and Man City have all scored three or more goals against them en route to victory recently, but it’s worth noting the Saints found the net in all three of those matches.

Despite only picking up one point, they’ve actually scored eight times in their last six outings. This season, 17 of Southampton’s games have featured three or more goals in the match with both teams scoring.

An away Liverpool clean sheet has been a relatively rare occurrence this season. They’ve conceded 26, which outweighs the 25 they’ve scored but they’ve discovered their shooting boots recently.

Klopp’s men have netted 23 times in their last nine games and shouldn’t meet much opposition against Southampton. We’re betting on a high-scoring game and victory for the visitors.