On paper, Saturday afternoon's encounter between Premier League leaders Liverpool and bottom-seekers Southampton at Anfield is a complete mismatch.
The Saints' most recent game ended in a 4-0 beating at the hands of Chelsea, while the Reds return to their championship chase after an almost unbelievable 1-0 victory against Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 match.
Liverpool managed to leave the Parc des Princes with a first-leg advantage on Wednesday night, taking the idiom "mash and grab" to a whole new level. They owed this to the fantastic Alisson Becker and the Brazilian's self-proclaimed finest performance of his life.
Harvey Elliott finished across goal to put Arne Slot's team in a commanding position before next week's second leg, sending the traveling supporters into raptures after the Reds withstood a flurry of furious Parisien assaults and a Khvicha Kvaratskhelia shot that was disallowed for a close offside.
Liverpool, who will play Newcastle United in the EFL Cup final a few days after PSG's visit to Anfield, is still on track to win both the domestic and continental trebles. They have capitalized on Arsenal's domestic attacking problems to create what will undoubtedly turn out to be an insurmountable 13-point lead at the top of the Premier League.
Liverpool's performances in recent months may not always have been dazzling, but at this stage, securing points is far more important than style. The Reds have managed to earn at least one point in each of their last 24 Premier League games.
In the league's history, only once has a team with an unbeaten streak of 24 or more matches suffered defeat against the bottom-ranked side—Manchester United’s 29-game run was halted by Wolverhampton Wanderers in February 2011. However, with Slot’s squad scoring at least twice in 18 consecutive home games, any concerns should be put to rest.
Separated by a staggering 58-point gap in the Premier League standings, Southampton are on a one-way journey back to the Championship, while Liverpool continue their march toward what seems like an inevitable place among the league's elite.
Former Roma and Torino manager Ivan Juric has so far been unable to orchestrate the miraculous turnaround needed to keep the Saints in the top flight. With the team stuck on just nine points, they risk being relegated with the lowest points total in Premier League history.
Chelsea, despite their own recent struggles, had no trouble dismantling Southampton in a 4-0 thrashing at Stamford Bridge last week. The defeat leaves the Saints 13 points adrift of safety with only 11 matches remaining in the season.
Remarkably, despite spending the 2023-24 season in the Championship, Southampton have still managed to lose more Premier League games than all but one team since the start of the 2022-23 campaign. Their 47 top-flight losses over two seasons are only fewer than Wolverhampton Wanderers' 54 losses across three seasons.
Southampton did put up a fight in narrow home defeats to Liverpool in both the Premier League and EFL Cup in late 2024. However, their last six Premier League visits to Anfield have all ended in defeat, and the Saints' supporters could be forgiven for fearing that streak will extend to a dismal seven on Saturday.
