Liverpool v Southampton: Jones faces Anfield baptism of fire in Saints bow
Once the cornerstone of consistency, Liverpool have kept fans on their toes recently in Premier League (PL) action, with recent losses to bottom-half sides Nottingham Forest and Leeds diluted with victories over Manchester City, West Ham, and a 2-1 win over Tottenham last time out.
Their inconsistency means they trail the top four by seven points, but manager Jürgen Klopp described their victory at Spurs as "massive" and will now hope to go into the World Cup break on a high.
Usually, Anfield would be the perfect place for the Reds to do just that, but after Leeds ended their 29-game unbeaten home run in the PL, the home faithful might be on edge.
Welcoming Southampton through the Shankly Gates should provide some encouragement though, considering Liverpool are unbeaten in the last eight home PL head-to-heads, while keeping clean sheets in the last six (W5, D1).
Southampton don’t appear to be bringing the form to change that record either as they’ve lost back-to-back PL matches, most recently a 4-1 thumping to Newcastle, meaning they’ve won only once in their last nine top-flight outings (D2, L6).
That signalled the end of Ralph Hasenhüttl’s time at the club, with the club selecting Luton manager Jones as the man to take over and hopefully lift Southampton out of the relegation zone.
Speaking after his appointment, Jones said he was “really proud to be given this opportunity” going on to say “I know my strengths and if a group buys into that, then I can manage at any level.”
The Saints will be reluctant to go marching into Anfield given they’ve lost four of their last five away PL matches (W1), failing to score in each defeat.
However, failure to pick up a positive result may mean they occupy one of the bottom-three spots at Christmas for the first time since 2004/05, the same season they suffered their only ever PL relegation!
Players to watch: Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah (30) has scored five goals in his last four matches, and will look to add to his ten goal contributions (G7, A3) from nine games against Southampton.
The visitors will be hoping Ché Adams (26) can help them find their feet in front of the Kop, given each of his five goals this season have come away from home.
Hot streak: Southampton have conceded first on a league-high ten occasions this PL campaign.
