Sports Blog 02/12/2015: League Cup Quarter-Final Preview – Southampton vs Liverpool, Wednesday 2nd December 2015

With Stoke, Everton and Man City already through, can Southampton reach their first League Cup semi-final since 1987 or will Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool get in their way?

The Saints have faltered slightly in the last fortnight, a 1-0 defeat at home to Stoke followed up by a 3-1 slump against Manchester City at the Etihad. Those losses brought to an end Southampton’s 6 game unbeaten run between the final weeks of September and the start of November, a run that included victories over Swansea and Chelsea and, more relevant in regards to Thursday night, a draw at Anfield. Ronald Koeman’s side have been more consistent in their League Cup appearances; they opened their account in dominant style, beating Milton Keynes Dons 6-0, before knocking out Aston Villa 2-1 in the 4th round.

Yet they face stiffer competition in the quarter-finals (where, incidentally, the Saints were knocked out by Sheffield United last season), and will need both Graziano Pelle and Sadio Mane to be firing on all cylinders. As he was last season the Italian international is Southampton’s top scorer, with his 9 goals in 16 games (including the winner against Villa in the 4th round) leaving him at a Super Mega PGM spread of 21-25. Perpetual Manchester United target Mane, meanwhile, is at a Super Mega PGM of 16-20 after scoring 6 goals in 15 games.



In contrast to Southampton it was a pretty impressive November for Liverpool, winning 5 of their 6 games, including knockout round-sealing victories over Rubin Kazan and Bordeaux in the Europa League and astonishing 3-1 and 4-1 thrashings of Chelsea and Manchester City. Less impressive was the Reds’ league form at Anfield, a 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace and a relatively fortunate 1-0 win over Swansea leaving Jurgen Klopp with a so-far so-so record at home. Still, it leaves Liverpool 2 points behind Tottenham in 6th, with the added bonus of a relatively easy Christmas run in that sees them face 4 bottom half sides alongside title-contenders (!!!) Leicester.

In the League Cup, other the other hand, Liverpool haven’t look quite as good. Entering in the 3rd round, the Reds barely scraped past Carlisle United on penalties after the game finished 1-1, before the 4th round gave Jurgen Klopp his first win as Liverpool’s manager, a 1-0 victory over Bournemouth that, whilst unconvincing, nevertheless did the job. Klopp will be hoping the Reds’ current strain of strong away form continues at St Mary’s, with Liverpool looking to best their semi-final defeat to Chelsea last season. Potentially as important will be the performance of Daniel Sturridge; the endlessly injured striker finally made a (19 minute) appearance in the German’s Liverpool last weekend and, at a Super Mega PGM of 25-30, could receive his first start under the new(ish) manager on Thursday evening.

Despite a recent dip in form for Southampton, and Liverpool’s fine performances on the road, the cup-tie nature of Thursday’s match has made it just too hard to call for our Spreadex traders, offering a choice Southampton/Liverpool Goal Supremacy spread of -0.1-0.1 with a Total Goals spread of 2.4-2.6.