Premier League leaders Liverpool travel to Southampton as they look to increase their lead over reigning champions Manchester City to eight points ahead of next weekend’s Anfield showdown.
Arne Slot’s side entered the weekend top of the table with a five point advantage after an incredible start under their new boss and a 2-0 victory over Aston Villa before the international break.
And City’s stunning 4-0 defeat to Tottenham on Saturday night, Pep Guardiola’s fifth defeat in a row in all competitions, means the Reds can open up a clear gap at the top of the table before hosting the champions next weekend.
Russell Martin’s Saints secured their first win of the season when they faced Everton in their last home fixture but they were defeated in a crucial clash with Wolves last time out. They are bottom of the table and desperately need to turn around their form or else they’ll face the drop back into the Championship.
Follow all the action with our live blog below:
Southampton host Liverpool in the Premier League, live on Sky Sports
Liverpool sit top of the table and hope to increase their advantage over Man City
Reds can go eight points clear – ahead of hosting City at Anfield next Sunday
42’ GOAL! Armstrong rebound from penalty after Robertson foul (SOU 1-1 LIV)
32’ SAVE! Kelleher makes smart stop to deny quick equaliser (SOU 0-1 LIV)
29’ GOAL! Szoboszlai finishes as Saints give ball away in box (SOU 0-1 LIV)
21’ SAVE! Salah shoots straight at McCarthey at back post (SOU 0-0 LIV)
Southampton XI: McCarthy; Walker-Peters, Harwood-Bellis, Stephens, Fraser, Downes, Lallana, Fernandes, Dibling, Armstrong, Onuachu.
Liverpool XI: Kelleher; Bradley, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Szoboszlai, Jones; Salah, Nunez, Gakpo
Southampton FC 1 – 1 Liverpool FC
14:49 , Chris Wilson
47 mins
Lovely stuff from the hosts, primarily from Onuachu, as he beats about four challenges while holding the ball up near his own area, and eventually skips through before releasing it to Walker-Peters, who himself produces a bit of quality in skipping past a challenge. The chance does break down though, as Aribo’s cross is cleared.
14:46 , Chris Wilson
45 mins
There’ll be six minutes of added time here!
VAR are checking for a penalty as Nunez is down in the box…
14:45 , Chris Wilson
44 mins
Southampton give it away near their own area again, and it’s almost a repeat of the first goal as Gakpo gets free in the area, but his shot is blocked.
14:43 , Chris Wilson
42 mins
GOAL!
And the hosts are level!
Armstrong steps up and fires his penalty too close to Kelleher. it’s a decent save but it bounces straight back out to Armstrong, who pokes it in at the second time of asking!
14:42 , Chris Wilson
40 mins
PENALTY!
The hosts have a penalty, but was the foul in the box?
Van Dijk gives away possession in his own half and Dibling pounces, driving towards the box before he’s scythed down by Robertson.
On first glance it looks just outside the box, but there’s a VAR check…
And it’s given! Robertson’s foot was on the line, apparently.
14:40 , Chris Wilson
39 mins
Aribo’s first involvement sees him create the space for a cross, but it’s eventually dealt with by the Liverpool defence.
14:38 , Chris Wilson
37 mins
Lallana does come off, and he’s replaced by Joe Aribo. We’re back underway.
14:36 , Chris Wilson
35 mins
The ball is kicked out for Lallana to receive treatment, and it looks like his day could be done.
14:34 , Chris Wilson
32 mins
Half a chance for the Saints as Walker-Peters’ cross is eventually turned behind for a corner, but the set-piece routine is poor. It doesn’t matter in the end though, as the home side regain possession and have their first big chance of the game, as Downes hits a shot on the turn that forces a good save from Kelleher.
14:31 , Chris Wilson
30 mins
GOAL!
Liverpool were beginning to turn the screw and now they lead, but the home side were at fault!
McCarthy has the ball in his hands and he rolls it out to a defender, but they’re immediately under pressure. Downes tries to clear from his own box, but it falls to Szoboszlai, who still has plenty to do as he curls in a great effort off the inside of the far post.
14:28 , Chris Wilson
27 mins
A good effort from Gakpo as he tries to catch out McCarthy with a low shot towards the near post, but the ‘keeper is equal to it.
Moments later, Jones tries the exact same thing, though this time it’s a fairly tame effort.
14:25 , Chris Wilson
24 mins
Half a chance for the visitors as Szoboszlai makes the challenge on the edge of the area and the ball breaks into his path, but he fizzes a shot right at the ‘keeper.
14:24 , Chris Wilson
24 mins
A yellow card for Lallana now as he goes flying in late on Gravenberch, and the Dutchman stays down briefly.
14:22 , Chris Wilson
21 mins
CLOSE!
More good work from Gakpo, who cuts inside and clips another great diagonal ball to Salah at the back post. He takes it down well and gets the shot away on the half-volley, but McCarthy makes himself big and produces a good stop.
14:20 , Chris Wilson
19 mins
A very dangerous diagonal cross from Gakpo is dealt with well by Downes, before Nunez fires a stray pass out of play.
The visitors are beginning to dominate the ball here, though.
14:17 , Chris Wilson
17 mins
Another booking for Liverpool, this one for Konate, after the Frenchman shoves over Onuachu.
14:16 , Chris Wilson
16 mins
More good work from Bradley, who takes up a central position before getting in behind the defence on the overlap. However, his cross is beaten away by McCarthy, before Szoboszlai fires over from distance.
14:14 , Chris Wilson
14 mins
There have been some nice passages of play from the hosts, though it’s mainly been individual bits of quality. Liverpool have also come close to putting together a couple of promising attacks, but they’re just lacking the final bit of composure.
Bradley is shown the first yellow card of the day after a late challenge on Lallana.
14:12 , Chris Wilson
12 mins
Great defensive work from Lallana to get back and intercept Salah’s lay-off to Szoboszlai. Onuachu gets plenty of cheers moments later after some good hold-up play, though the hosts are forced into playing it backwards.
14:10 , Chris Wilson
10 mins
Another promising attack from the visitors as Gakpo finds Robertson on the overlap, and the full-back clips in a cross to Salah at the back post, but the Egyptian can only direct his volley over.
14:08 , Chris Wilson
8 mins
The home fans want a penalty as Armstrong originally gets past Konate and is then clipped, but it was outside of the box anyway. The hosts do get a corner, but it’s a poor delivery.
14:07 , Chris Wilson
6 mins
First real chance of the day as Liverpool pour forward, with Szoboszlai leading the attack before laying it off to Salah, who curls a shot too close to McCarthy.
The stand-in ‘keeper collects well from the subsequent corner.
14:05 , Chris Wilson
4 mins
Robertson sweeps in the first cross of the day, and Nunez narrowly misses it after good defending from Downes.
The home side try and make their first foray forward but it’s not troubling Liverpool at the moment, as Fernandes fires a shot from distance straight at Kelleher.
14:03 , Chris Wilson
2 mins
Southampton almost make a mess of it when trying to play it out from the back, but they manage to clear.
14:02 , Chris Wilson
1 min
The hosts have set up in a back five to begin with, with Fraser and Walker-Peters as wing-backs.
Liverpool have started on the front foot, as you’d expect, and Jones and Salah nearly combine to create an opening down the right.
14:00 , Chris Wilson
The visitors get us underway at St. Mary’s!
13:56 , Chris Wilson
The two sides are in the tunnel at St. Mary’s, so we’ll be underway soon.
Liverpool have a huge chance to extend their lead at the top of the table today – they’d go eight points ahead with a win.
13:50 , Chris Wilson
13:45 , Chris Wilson
Liverpool’s last Premier League game against Southampton was a 4-4 away draw in May 2023 – they conceded as many goals in that game as they had in their previous six visits to St Mary’s combined.
So far, the Reds have won nine of their 11 Premier League games under new head coach Arne Slot (D1 L1). A win over Southampton will see the Dutchman become the joint-fastest manager to reach 10 wins from the start of a Premier League career (12 games), alongside Guus Hiddink in May 2009 and Carlo Ancelotti in November 2009 (both with Chelsea).
Mohamed Salah has both scored and assisted in the same match 35 times in the Premier League (including four already this term), just one shy of Wayne Rooney’s record of 36 games with both a goal and assist in the competition. The Egyptian has been directly involved in 11 goals (7 goals, 4 assists) in 11 Premier League appearances against Southampton.
13:40 , Chris Wilson
With around 20 minutes until kick-off, here’s a reminder of how you can watch today’s earlier game.
The Premier League fixture will kick off at 2pm BST on Sunday 24 November at St Mary’s, Southampton.
What TV channel is it on and how can I watch?
It will be shown live on Sky Sports Main Event and Premier League, with coverage starting from 1pm. If you’re not a Sky customer, you can grab a NOWTV Day Pass here to watch without a subscription.
If you want to stream major sporting events while you are travelling or watching from abroad you’ll need a VPN. Get the best VPN deals in the UK. Viewers using a VPN need to make sure that they comply with any local regulations where they are, and also with the terms of their service provider.
13:35 , Chris Wilson
Southampton have won just one of their last 14 Premier League games against Liverpool (drawn three, lost 10) – a 1-0 home victory in January 2021.
However, the Saints have only lost one of their last eight Premier League home games against sides starting the day top of the table (W2 D5), and are unbeaten in their last four (W2 D2 – including a 1-0 win over Liverpool in January 2021) since a 0-1 defeat to Manchester City in May 2018.
They are the lowest scorers in the Premier League this season (with seven goals), while only Crystal Palace (5.1 per cent) have a lower shot conversion rate than Saints (6.2 per cent). Just 30.1 per cent of Southampton’s shots have been on target this term (34/113), a league-low ratio.
Overall, Southampton have lost nine of their 11 Premier League games this season (W1 D1). Only seven sides in English top-flight history have reached 10 defeats in 12 or fewer matches from the start of a campaign, with all seven going on to be relegated.
13:30 , Chris Wilson
Russell Martin called December an “exciting month” in his press conference, adding that “we should be excited about the challenge”.
“We showed the guys the table how it looked at this point last season, and how much it changed by the end of December. It’s such an exciting month.
“People talk about the difficulty of the games and the level of competition we face in the next four or five games, but it’s what we’ve worked so hard for and we should be excited about the challenge.
“Teams have shown in recent weeks that you can pick up big results against big teams and good opposition. We’re going to have to at some point if we’re going to achieve what we want to achieve.”
He added that Liverpool are “the best team in the country at the moment on current form”, and went on to praise Arne Slot’s start as boss.
“When you go into a club that’s built on something for so long with top players that have bought into that, he hasn’t changed too much. It’s the best management at that point to continue some of the brilliant things they were good at, and put his own spin on it, which he has done.”
13:20 , Chris Wilson
Liverpool have of course been on excellent form of late, and their last five matches have thrown up four wins and a draw – a hard-fought 2-2 against Arsenal at the Emirates.
In the meantime, they’ve beaten teams such as Brighton, Chelsea and Aston Villa in the league, while also landing convincing wins over Bayer Leverkusen and RB Leipzig.
Southampton’s results could hardly be more different, with the Saints sitting bottom of the league and with four losses and one win from their last five.
That win came against Everton, with recent losses against Arsenal, Leicester, Man City and Wolves. As things stand, Russell Martin’s side are five points adrift of Wolves in 17th.
13:15 , Chris Wilson
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Arne Slot said that “it would be a bit strange if I said I’m not enjoying the position we are in now but it has also been 11 games”.
“We all know other teams are capable of having the same runs as us. We like where we are so if we want to stay there, we have to keep winning games.
“I am not so worried about the first game after the break. My worry is always the game plan of our opponents. It can have a bit of influence but the most influence is our game plan and our intensity compared to who we are playing.”
Slot also added that Southampton are “bottom of the league but they don’t play at all like this”, so today will “be another challenge” for his side.
13:10 , Chris Wilson
This will be the first Premier League match between the side starting the day bottom of the table and the side starting the day top since April 2023 – Southampton’s 3-3 draw away to Arsenal. League leaders are unbeaten in 14 such matches (W12 D2) since Wolves won 2-1 against Manchester United in February 2011.
13:05 , Chris Wilson
Today will be the 97th match between these two sides – Liverpool have won 50 so far, with Southampton winning 24 and 22 ending as draws.
These two sides did meet last season despite Southampton being in the Championship – Liverpool ran out 3-0 winners in an FA Cup tie in February.
The last time these two sides met in the league was in May 2023, when they played out a 4-4 draw!
13:00 , Chris Wilson
Arne Slot has made three changes to the side that beat Villa last time out, with one of them a forced change as Conor Bradley replaces the injured Trent Alexander-Arnold.
In midfield, Dominik Szoboszlai comes in for Alexis Mac Allister, while on the left wing Cody Gakpo replaces Luis Diaz.
12:56 , Chris Wilson
Russell Martin has made five changes to the side that lost to Wolves before the international break.
Alex McCarthy replaces the injured Aaron Ramsdale in goal, while in defence Ryan Manning and Jan Bednarek drop out for Ryan Fraser and Flynn Downes, with the latter moving into midfield.
In the middle of the park, Stuart Armstrong and Joe Aribo are replaced by Tyler Dibling and Paul Onuachu, with the latter moving upfront.
12:49 , Chris Wilson
Southampton XI: McCarthy; Walker-Peters, Harwood-Bellis, Stephens, Fraser, Downes, Lallana, Fernandes, Dibling, Archer, Onuachu.
Subs: Lumley, Sugawara, Bree, Manning, Aribo, Ugochukwu, Kamaldeen, Brereton Diaz, Archer
Liverpool XI: Kelleher; Bradley, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Jones, Szoboszlai; Salah, Nunez, Gakpo.
Subs: Jaros, Davies, Gomez, Endo, Diaz, Mac Allister, Elliott, Quansah, Morton.
12:40 , Chris Wilson
Line-ups should be coming out at around 12.45pm, so here’s a quick reminder of the team news.
Southampton have been dealt a major blow with Aaron Ramsdale suffering a hand injury on international duty, while Jan Bednarek has been sidelined as well.
Liverpool will be without Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alisson, Diogo Jota and Harvey Elliott. But Virgil van Dijk is fit to face his former side after withdrawing from Netherlands duty.
12:35 , Chris Wilson
Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has told his team-mates they cannot afford to ease off after opening up a gap at the top of the Premier League.
The Reds know that, regardless of their result at Southampton on Sunday, they will end the weekend at the top of the standings after a superb start from new manager Arne Slot, who has still only tasted defeat once since taking over in the summer.
A game against a Saints side bottom of the table with only one league win to their name this term is clearly one Liverpool should be winning, but bigger challenges await in the coming days with Real Madrid due at Anfield in the Champions League on Wednesday before Manchester City visit next weekend.
12:27 , Chris Wilson
Arne Slot insists Liverpool will not talk about being Premier League title favourites despite taking a five-point lead at the top of the table.
The Dutchman’s side are nine points clear of third place and have only dropped five points this season, while results before the international break meant statisticians Opta gave them a 58 per cent chance of winning the league and many bookmakers made Liverpool the likeliest champions.
But while manager Slot does detect growing belief from his players in him, he is adamant that neither he nor anyone at the club will get carried away by their lofty position.
He said: “I don’t talk about favourites. It is boring but I just talk about the next game which is a challenge in itself.”
Arne Slot provides telling response to Liverpool’s new title expectations
12:20 , Chris Wilson
Southampton have been dealt a major blow with Aaron Ramsdale suffering a hand injury on international duty, while Jan Bednarek has been sidelined as well.
Liverpool will be without Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alisson, Diogo Jota and Harvey Elliott. But Virgil van Dijk is fit to face his former side after withdrawing from Netherlands duty.
12:15 , Chris Wilson
The Premier League fixture will kick off at 2pm BST on Sunday 24 November at St Mary’s, Southampton.
What TV channel is it on and how can I watch?
It will be shown live on Sky Sports Main Event and Premier League, with coverage starting from 1pm. If you’re not a Sky customer, you can grab a NOWTV Day Pass here to watch without a subscription.
If you want to stream major sporting events while you are travelling or watching from abroad you’ll need a VPN. Get the best VPN deals in the UK. Viewers using a VPN need to make sure that they comply with any local regulations where they are, and also with the terms of their service provider.
12:10 , Chris Wilson
Liverpool travel to Southampton looking to increase their Premier League advantage as top meets bottom at St Mary’s.
The Reds continued their excellent start under Arne Slot before the international break and beat Aston Villa to go five points clear.
It’s a big week for the Dutch coach, with blockbuster games against Real Madrid and Manchester City to come, but the focus first is on Southampton.
Liverpool would be 11 points clear if they beat Southampton and City, with Pep Guardiola’s side losing 4-0 to Tottenham on Saturday night.
Russel Martin’s side secured their first win of the season on their last home outing against Everton – but it was followed by defeat to fellow strugglers Wolves.
12:00 , Jamie Braidwood
Liverpool travel to Southampton looking to increase their Premier League advantage as top meets bottom at St Mary’s.
The Reds continued their excellent start under Arne Slot before the international break and beat Aston Villa to go five points clear.
It’s a big week for the Dutch coach, with blockbuster games against Real Madrid and Manchester City to come, but the focus first is on Southampton.
Liverpool would be 11 points clear if they beat Southampton and City, with Pep Guardiola’s side losing 4-0 to Tottenham on Saturday night.
Russel Martin’s side secured their first win of the season on their last home outing against Everton – but it was followed by defeat to fellow strugglers Wolves.
Is Southampton vs Liverpool on TV? Channel, time and how to watch
