Capital One Cup: In-form Reds ready to resume Saints success
Published:
Lee Gormley | December 1, 2015
Southampton v Liverpool
- Capital One Cup quarter-final
- Wednesday, December 2nd
- Kick-off: 19:45 GMT
- St Mary’s, Southampton
- Live on Sky Sports 1
Saints host Klopp’s Reds on south coast
Jurgen Klopp will guide his rejuvenated Liverpool side to St Mary’s for a Capital One Cup quarter-final encounter with Southampton, as the Reds seek further Saints success, having won three of their last four meetings since September 2013.
Ronald Koeman’s men are looking to overcome a poor run of form in this fixture, with the south coast club having been toppled by the Reds on their previous two home encounters. Those defeats included comfortable 2-0 and 3-0 wins for Liverpool, and the travelling Reds are 15/4 with Coral for third successive win to nil at St Mary’s in 90 minutes.
Reds on a high
Following three successive wins in all competitions and several key players returning to the fold, Liverpool are currently on a major high under the spirited guidance of German coach Klopp, though the record eight-time League Cup champions are 17/10 to lose out on their travels within normal time.
The positive impact that Klopp has had is clearly evident in recent results, having beaten Manchester City, Bordeaux and Swansea City in consecutive matches, and talented Reds prospect Jordon Ibe is thankful after both Daniel Sturridge and Jordan Henderson recently returned from injury.
“It was a big lift having the two of them back out there,” Ibe stated. “Jordan and Daniel are big figures in the team and hopefully they will get back to form. We all know how important they can be for us on the pitch.
“Anything is possible..”
“We’ve got good players coming back in and also Philippe Coutinho is close to being back as well, so hopefully we will climb even higher.
“Anything is possible right now. We will take it game by game and try to do it again on Wednesday.”
England frontman Sturridge is 5/1 to open proceedings on another potential outing since his comeback to competitive action, while skipper Henderson is 11/2 to strike anytime in normal time.
Nathaniel Clyne was on target in this fixture for Southampton last season, but he is 12/1 to net against his former employers anytime, and Christian Benteke is 11/2 to strike last, having struck in the two sides’ Premier League clash in October.
Saints strikeforce a threat
Koeman will have plenty of firepower of his own for this home clash against Liverpool, with Italian marksman Graziano Pelle having already dispatched 11 times this campaign for club and country. The St Mary’s poacher is 5/4 for another goal anytime, while wicked wingman Sadio Mane is 6/1 to score first, after doing so at Anfield.
The home crowd will witness plenty of familiar faces in the visitors line-up, with the likes of Clyne, Dejan Lovren and Lallana all set to feature against their former club. Liverpool have been linked with further Saints acquisitions in January, but before then Klopp’s Reds must overcome a tough test in this Capital One Cup quarter-final clash.
Related
Read our Capital One Cup archive.
Coral’s top tip: Liverpool have won to nil on their last two trips to St Mary’s, so back them at 15/4 to do so again here.
