Mission impossible awaits Southampton when they visit Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday afternoon in the Premier League. The challenge they are tasked with is to answer the unanswerable question; how do you beat Liverpool in their own backyard?
The answer is simple. There is no answer.
The last manager to mastermind a league victory over Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool at Anfield was Sam Allardyce when his Crystal Palace side beat Liverpool 2-1 and left Merseyside with all 3 points. That was in April 2017, and a staggering 42 home games ago at Anfield. The fortress that is Anfield has become the most feared away stadium in the Premier League. Teams they come, they lose, they leave Anfield with nothing. If Liverpool are feeling generous, they might just leave with a draw. An outcome most teams can only hope for.
Southampton will roll into town on Saturday looking to claim a fifth successive away win, after victories against Aston Villa, Chelsea, Leicester and Crystal Palace in their previous four away outings. So far this season, no team has visited Anfield on the back of four consecutive away wins and Liverpool are yet to face a team at home this season which has Southampton’s current away day form. Southampton’s fearless approach on the road poses a real threat to Liverpool’s unbeaten home run.
This will give Ralph Hasenhüttl some hope of causing an upset, but he is under no illusion as to the enormity of the challenge. When asked if his Saints side can win at Anfield on Saturday, the Austrian replied: “I think normally, everyone expects us to lose there.” He then added “It would be normal that we lose, but this season is everything but not normal for us. Not normal in the positive and not normal in the negative way. I don’t expect a normal game from our side on the weekend.”
The South Coast side will need Danny Ings at his sharpest if they are to have any chance of beating Liverpool. They will also need luck and bucket loads of it. In fact, tell Lady Luck to bring a few friends along too.
The ins and outs of the transfer window
Southampton’s defence on Saturday will have a different look compared to recent weeks. Saints full-back Cédric Soares completed his loan move to Arsenal on transfer deadline day, in a loan deal that will keep him at the Emirates until the end of the season. The void created by Cédric’s departure has been filled by Tottenham Hotspur full-back Kyle Walker-Peters, who moved to St Mary’s this week on loan until the end of the season. Kyle Walker-Peters will not be involved at Anfield though, along with Stuart Armstrong who is out through injury.
Liverpool had a very quiet transfer window which was no surprise; what do you buy for a team that already has everything? Liverpool’s only major injury doubt for Saturday’s game is Sadio Mané, who is expected to miss out. Mo Salah will be looking to add to his current tally of four goals against the Saints.
Defeat for Liverpool on Saturday would barely dent the 19-point lead they currently have at the summit of the Premier League. A first league title since 1990 is all but theirs; however, a win for Southampton at Anfield will not only be one of the shock results of the season, it will also finally answer the unanswerable question.
