We’re back in action with other leagues and it’s no surprise yesterday was another decent day from our tips.
A stunning 3-1 victory for Manchester City against Chelsea meant our tips from the featured game played out correctly. Both teams scored and we saw over 2.5 goals as well.
For the straight wins section, it was a flawless run as all our five picks came through and all of them recorded wins just as we predicted.
Moving to the goal market, it was another decent run as three out of five picks played out correctly. AC Milan and Barcelona disappointed on that end and could only manage 1-0 wins respectively.
Finally, we conclude at the goal-scorer section where three out of four picks played out correctly. Ronaldo, Lukaku and Lewandowski scored but Messi failed to find the back of the net on his 500th La Liga appearance for Barcelona.
There are no ‘games’ today but the reigning Premier League champions are in action tonight. Given the intense nature of the Premier League title race right now, it’ll be a crime if we fail to cover a game with so many implications.
Southampton vs Liverpool – Preview
Liverpool will be looking to move back out on their own at the top of the Premier League table when they visit Southampton in their opening match of 2021 on Monday night.
Both sides ended 2020 with disappointing goalless draws as the Saints were held at home by West Ham United and Liverpool were frustrated by Newcastle United.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has played down the importance of the league table at this stage of the season, but Manchester United moving level on points with the champions courtesy of their victory over Aston Villa on New Year’s Day will surely only increase the desire to return to winning ways on Monday night.
The likes of Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Leicester City and even Everton have been tipped as possible title challengers already this season before falling away and Man United are the latest threat to Liverpool’s crown, just a couple of weeks before the bitter rivals face off at Anfield in their next league game after this.
Klopp will know that his side cannot afford to look past a Southampton side that has impressed so far this season, though, particularly after their anti-climactic end to 2020.
Back-to-back draws against West Bromwich Albion and Newcastle, the latter seeing them fail to score for the first time this season, means that only goal difference is now keeping them on top of the pile heading into this match.
However, on paper at least a trip to St Mary’s looks like a tougher task than the recent games against West Brom and Newcastle, so Klopp will be demanding an improvement from his side.
Southampton are also in shaky form heading into this match, though, with a run of four games without a win seeing them slip from a place in the top four down towards mid-table.
Liverpool remain favorites on paper but the Saints have shown they are more than capable of being party spoilers once again.
Any more dropped points could see that blip become a real concern, and Liverpool have only won their opening league game of the year once in the last eight attempts when that match has come away from home.
Liverpool win
Given what is at stake on the league table, we’re tipping Liverpool to dig in for a dominant performance and move three points clear at the top of the table. It might not be an easy game at St. Mary’s stadium but we expect the reigning champions to get the job done and secure all three points today. Bet365 have 1.61 odds, Bet9ja have 1.63 and 1xbet have 1.67.
Over 2.5 Goals
Both sides played out to a 0-0 draw for their last outings. Particularly for Liverpool, that result was a disappointment and we can expect them to go guns blazing in search of a win and goals to go with. Southampton are in a similar situation and we can expect they won’t be sacred to have a go at the Reds for sure. We could see a game where both sided take it to each other even though we’re still backing Liverpool to win. Bet9ja have 1.60 odds, Bet365 have 1.61 and 1xbet have 1.65.
Anytime Goal-scorer
Mane
The Senegalese forward only has six goals this season and has not been at his usual level of consistency like we know. However, given the fact that he is in search of goals and the added reason that he has a good record against his former side, we’re tipping him to find the back of the net tonight. Bet365 have 1.80 odds for him to score while Bet9ja have it way better at 2.50.
Ings
In similar fashion to Mane, Ings has scored six goals this season as well. If Southampton are to put up a fight or secure a shock upset, he is the number one man to lead their attack. In another similar coincidence to Mane, Ings will also be facing his former side and this could perhaps leave him motivated to do a dent on his former employers. Liverpool don’t have the best of defences at the moment and there could be something for Ings to capitalize on perhaps. There could be immense value here with Bet365 offering 2.37 odds while Bet9ja have theirs at 3.00.
Bet on Liverpool vs Southampton
Football Lover. All-round junkie of the beautiful game. Could be found watching football most of the time. If not he’s writing about them or making some punditry you don’t agree with. A certain bias for Arsenal and Santos FC.
