Southampton will be looking to edge clear of trouble on Saturday, while bringing Liverpool's return to form to a shuddering halt.
The Saints head into the weekend precariously perched just four points clear of the drop zone.
A run of one win in eight has prevented the South Coast outfit from climbing the standings, with much of their season having been spent in and around the bottom three.
They do have fixtures against fellow strugglers to come, but will be keen to make the most of any game on home soil.
Liverpool, though, will arrive at St Mary's buoyed by a three-match winning run.
The Reds have fired themselves back into the hunt for European qualification, with there still an outside chance that they could force their way into the top four.
Brendan Rodgers will be eager for his side to maintain momentum and will be in mood to offer favours to a side scrapping for their top-flight lives.
Southampton have a clean bill of health, with no fresh injury or suspension concerns to contend with.
Danny Fox and Steven Davis were the only absentees in last weekend's 0-0 draw at Norwich but could feature for Mauricio Pochettino's side at St Mary's.
Vegard Forren played for the U21s again on Monday, so is a step closer to fitness.
Liverpool is sweating on the involvement of first-choice goalkeeper Jose Reina.
The Spanish shot-stopper sat out a 3-2 victory over Tottenham last time out with a calf problem and a decision is yet to be taken on his fitness heading into the weekend.
The Reds will, however, have Joe Allen available on Saturday, with the midfielder prepared to delay undergoing surgery on a shoulder complaint.
No comments:
Post a Comment