English League Cup. Quarterfinals.
December 18. 22:00. Southampton. “St. Mary’s”
Chief Judge: Simon Hooper (England)
Broadcast: Setanta Sports
The same English League Cup, the prestige of which is legendary. Many fans believe that these are just extra matches on the calendar, while some conservatives still advocate preserving football traditions.
It has long been clear how Premier League clubs feel about this tournament; at least until the semi-final stage, you almost never see the main squads there. Surely, we will see something similar this time from Arne Slot’s team. And Southampton are unlikely to play with their entire starting lineup. Although there is just a transition period there, maybe they will try to give all their strength on the field.
“Southampton” news
Now these are no longer Russell Martin’s charges. After the last match in the Premier League, the coach was fired and a new coach has not yet been appointed. This means that the assistant head coach will lead the team to the game with the Merseysiders.
A similar period for all teams is a chance to get some unexpected victories on an emotional high. Perhaps Martin’s dismissal will help the Saints show a top performance in this game purely due to emotions. And then, when a new coach arrives, I can hold out for a few matches from that emotional upsurge.
In the last 5 matches, the “saints” have 4 defeats and 1 draw. And the draw happened against Brighton and they played so well there that they almost snatched a victory against such an eminent opponent. And everything else is defeat. We lost to the same Liverpool (2:3), but gave a good fight to our opponents there. Then they lost to Chelsea (1:5), Aston Villa (0:1) and Tottenham (0:5). They remain an outsider in the championship, but it will be interesting to see if anything changes after the head coach leaves.
Liverpool news
Arne Slot’s team slipped a little in the results. But only in the results, because everything that directly concerns the game on the field still does not raise any questions. They continue to lead the table in the Premier League, the Champions League and are confidently heading to another League Cup final, which they won a year ago against Chelsea.
Over the last 5 matches they have 3 wins and 2 draws. It was those two draws that began to raise certain questions among the fans, but if you look specifically at the performance, it was unsuccessful only with Newcastle (3:3), in the last round with Fulham (2:2) they spent almost the entire match They were short-handed due to Robertson’s removal, but they pressed hard and tried to win, and they almost succeeded.
There were also three victories: over Real (2:0), Manchester City (2:0) and Girona (1:0). That is, if there are any problems here, it is most likely only in the results, which are not always possible to obtain; in terms of the game, this is still one of the best, if not the best team in the world.
Personal meetings
24.11.24 Premier League “Southampton” – “Liverpool” 2:3
02.28.24 KA “Liverpool” – “Southampton” 3:0
05.28.23 Premier League “Southampton” – “Liverpool” 4:4
22.11.22 Premier League Liverpool – Southampton 3:1
05.17.22 Premier League “Southampton” – “Liverpool” 1:2
Figures and facts
- Liverpool have scored at least 3 goals in their last 4 matches against Southampton in all competitions;
- In the last 6 matches between these opponents in all tournaments, the bet was 2.5.
Personnel situation, tentative compositions
On the eve of this match, the Saints have several losses. Will Smallbone, Gavin Bazunu and Ross Stewart are injured. Jack Stevens is also suspended and it is unknown whether Aaron Ramsdale will play.
As for Liverpool, they still have Ibrahima Konate and Conor Bradley injured. Andy Robertson will also serve his match suspension for being sent off in the last match. The physical readiness of Kostas Tsimikas is questionable. Everyone else is ready to play.
“Southampton”, 3-4-3: Ramsdale – Harwood-Bellis, Bednarek, Wood – Sugawara, Downs, Fernandes, Walker-Peters – Dibling, Onuachu, Archer
Liverpool, 4-2-3-1: Kelleher – Alexander-Arnold, Quanza, van Dijk, Gomez – Endo, Morton – Chiesa, Soboslai, Gakpo – Nunez
Broadcast of the match
Bets and odds for the match
Forecast for the match between Southampton and Liverpool from UA-Football
TB 2.5 – 0:2. Since we are unlikely to see the first team of Merseysiders for this match, there may not be a scoring extravaganza, but their quality should be enough to win a comfortable victory against such a battered Southampton, which is still looking for a new coach and has not shown any results before. Therefore, we will bet on the visitors to win with a two-goal advantage.
This forecast is only one of the possible scenarios, it does not guarantee a win.
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