Southampton vs Liverpool
Premier League 2018-19
Venue: St Mary's
Date: Friday, 5 April, 2019
Kick-off: 8:00pm GMT
The title pressure has been predictably flipped straight back onto Liverpool as they travel to face Southampton in a televised Friday night fixture under the lights at St Mary's.
Jurgen Klopp's side and defending champions Manchester City have continued their game of leapfrog over recent days, with the latter following their easy win at Fulham with another straightforward defeat of Cardiff to reclaim top spot.
Liverpool had briefly returned to the summit as a comical last-gasp own goal handed them all three points at home to Tottenham last weekend and they will jump back above their rivals - who are in FA Cup semi-final action on Saturday - with another win on the south coast.
16th-place Southampton, meanwhile, are currently five points clear of the relegation zone with a game in hand over Cardiff in 18th after a run of three wins in four matches against Fulham, Tottenham and Brighton.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg notched the only goal of the game at the Amex last time out as the Saints moved level on points with their hosts.
Southampton vs Liverpool team news and predicted line-ups
Southampton striker Shane Long remains a slight doubt with a groin problem, while Danny Ings - who only returned from a long lay-off at Brighton - is ineligible to face his parent club.
Michael Obafemi (hamstring) and Jannik Vestergaard (groin) remain sidelined.
Southampton XI: Gunn, Valery, Bednarek, Yoshida, Bertrand, Romeu, Hojbjerg, Ward-Prowse, Armstrong, Redmond, Austin
Liverpool have been handed a sizable boost with the news that Virgil van Dijk will be fit to play on Friday evening.
The Dutch centre-back - whose case to be crowned as the world's best defender seemingly strengthens every week - was spotted limping and had an ice pack strapped to his ankle after receiving a kick against Spurs, but Klopp revealed at his pre-match press conference that he had trained as normal this week.
Liverpool's injury list has cleared, with only Joe Gomez (ankle) and long-term absentee Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain still missing.
Liverpool XI: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson, Wijnaldum, Fabinho, Milner, Salah, Mane, Firmino
Score prediction: Southampton 1-2 Liverpool
While Liverpool are winning games at present, they did not play particularly well against either Fulham or Tottenham and may need to re-raise their performance levels if they are to successfully topple City and win a first top-flight title for 29 years.
Southampton are more than competitive and have taken great strides under Ralph Hasenhuttl - a man frequently compared to Klopp. They will be no pushovers and will be expected to take advantage of any slip-up.
Another narrow win for the visitors seems a likely outcome.
Southampton vs Liverpool tickets
For ticket information, click here to head to Southampton's website.
Betting tips via Betfair | UK users only | Subject to change
Match odds
- Southampton to win: 15/2
- Draw: 4/1
- Liverpool to win: 2/5
First goalscorer odds
- Mohamed Salah: 3/1
- Sadio Mane: 4/1
- Roberto Firmino: 5/1
- Xherdan Shaqiri: 11/2
Click here to find the latest match odds and place a bet.
TV channel and live stream, and online coverage
The match will be shown live on Sky Sports' Premier League and Main Event channels, and is available via Now TV with a day pass on offer for £8.99. Sky Sports subscribers can stream the match online via SkyGo and the SkyGo app.
You can also follow all the action with Standard Sport's LIVE blog with David Lynch at St Mary's.
Head to head (h2h) history and results
These two teams have met 39 times in the Premier League era, with Liverpool leading 19-10 in terms of victories. There have been 10 draws.
The Reds have won each of the last three games, scoring eight goals in the process without reply.
Mohamed Salah and Joel Matip both netted after a Wesley Hoedt own goal in a first-half onslaught at Anfield as Liverpool cruised to a 3-0 triumph in September.
It was the first time the club had won seven straight matches at the start of a season across all competitions since 1990.
