The Premier League train rumbles on. On Friday evening, Southampton receives a visit from Liverpool in its own stadium and these two clubs can use the points extremely well.
Southampton:
A number of crucial weeks have come for Southampton. The Saints are still engaged in a relegation battle in the Premier League and there seems to be no change in the short term. With Fulham and Huddersfield Town, two Premier League-teams have already been relegated and that means that one Premier League-club will be relegated at the end of the competition. Southampton, together with Brighton and Burnley, has 33 points and that is five more than Cardiff City. Normally Southampton, Brighton and Burnley are therefore almost certain of body retention, although a five-point gap is not irreconcilable.
Frankly, I cannot imagine that Ralph Hasenhüttl is still degrading with Southampton. Firstly, because Cardiff City has less material than The Saints, and Southampton is also doing very well in the final duels. The Hasenhüttl team won three of the last four Premier League games and only had to give up a visit to Manchester United: 3-2. However, Southampton earned at least one point on Old Trafford. A week later, Southampton was a good 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur and last weekend The Saints won three points at Brighton & Hove Albion: 0-1. It shows that Hasenhüttl has had a pretty good conversation with Southampton and the Austrian may not be relegated to The Saints anymore.
Liverpool:
They can write history at Liverpool in the coming weeks. This can be achieved by winning the Champions League, grabbing the Premier League title or both. The Liverpool supporters yearn for a Premier League championship rather than winning the Champions League, and that is understandable – the last time Liverpool was champion of England was in 1990 and that is actually top club-unworthy. In the first months of the current season, Liverpool had the best papers to win the Premier League, but lately the proportions have shifted. Manchester City is one point ahead of The Reds and since the Premier League schedules are intertwined, there is no way to tie them up. For example, Liverpool does play in competition this weekend and Manchester City again, with the result that The Reds have always played one game more than the competition in the coming weeks.
Last Sunday, Liverpool came into action. At Anfield the top duel with Tottenham Hotspur was on the program and The Reds won 2-1 against the Spurs. Jürgen Klopp’s team did not complain about happiness during the entire match. Certainly not in the final phase after Tottenham defender Toby Alderweireld passed his own goalkeeper, leaving the three points on Anfield. In the last few days, the Liverpool local media were only talking about Virgil van Dijk, who suffered an ankle injury against Tottenham, but Van Dijk is used to his old club. But also good, because Klopp cannot really miss the Dutch defender during this crucial phase of the season.
