First meets worst at St Mary's on Sunday afternoon, as Liverpool resume their Premier League title quest at the home of basement boys Southampton.
While the Reds went into the international break on the back of a richly-deserved 2-0 win over Aston Villa, their hosts were conquered by a hitherto winless Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Match preview
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Before the astonishing alleged video of Premier League referee David Coote bad-mouthing Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool leaked onto social media, the suspended official was the man in the middle for the Reds' 15th win from 17 matches under Arne Slot in all competitions.
Efforts either side of the half-time whistle from Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah ensured that the Merseyside giants would spend the international break an unassailable five points clear of ailing champions Manchester City, who lost more ground with their shock reverse at the hands of Brighton & Hove Albion.
Also the best side in Europe this season as far as the 36-team Champions League table is concerned, Liverpool's outstanding start to life under Slot's wing appears to be more than just the customary new manager bounce as they chase a fifth straight victory in all tournaments this weekend.
Already smashing Liverpool managerial records left, right and centre, Slot could now become the first Reds boss to reach 10 Premier League wins in his first 12 games, a feat that only ex-Chelsea managers Guus Hiddink and Carlo Ancelotti have managed in the history of the competition.
The erstwhile Feyenoord coach is also yet to suffer defeat on the road as Reds manager, and Sunday's visitors have struck multiple goals in six of their last seven away matches in all competitions; grim reading for those of a Southampton persuasion.
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Riding high on cloud nine after sinking Everton for their first victory of the Premier League season, Southampton sought to avoid Wolverhampton Wanderers from achieving that same desired outcome in gameweek 11, but their game plan was in tatters when Pablo Sarabia struck inside the opening two minutes.
While the Saints failed to muster a response to the Spaniard's quickfire effort, Wolves ensured a long-overdue three points through a Matheus Cunha thunderbolt at the start of the second period, thereby bringing Russell Martin's troops crashing back down to earth.
More importantly, Southampton's 2-0 reverse in the West Midlands saw Wolves supplant them in the bottom half of the Premier League rankings, and the 20th-placed hosts cannot clamber above the dotted line even if they can shock Slot and co; they are four points worse off than 17th-placed Ipswich Town at the time of writing.
Overcoming Everton and Stoke City in their last two home matches offers a sliver of hope - as does the fact that they have scored in each of their last four at St Mary's - and rather incredibly, Southampton have lost just one of their last eight Premier League games against the side starting the day at the top of the table.
That sequence includes a 1-0 upset of Liverpool in January 2021, but Southampton have since lost five and drawn one of their last six meetings with the Reds, succumbing to the superiority of Klopp's Young Guns in a 3-0 FA Cup loss back in February.
Team News
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Liverpool's success over Villa was marginally overshadowed by the first-half hamstring injury to Trent Alexander-Arnold, who had to withdraw from the England squad, while fellow fundamental defender Virgil van Dijk was released early from Netherlands duty on "medical grounds".
Slot confirmed on Friday morning that Van Dijk was ready to play on Sunday, but Alexander-Arnold is not training with the team and is therefore set to sit out the trip to St Mary's alongside Alisson Becker (hamstring), Diogo Jota (abdominal) and Federico Chiesa (fitness).
However, foot fracture victim Harvey Elliott is now back in full training and could make his long-awaited comeback in the showdown with the Saints, where Conor Bradley is primed to step in for Alexander-Arnold on the right-hand side.
Regarding Southampton's availability, Martin has lost two defensive cornerstones of his own at the worst possible time, as Aaron Ramsdale (finger) and Jan Bednarek (knee) are facing weeks on the sidelines.
The pair join long-term absentees Gavin Bazunu (Achilles), Ross Stewart (hamstring) and William Smallbone (hamstring) in the medical room, but Flynn Downes (knee) and Ryan Fraser (illness) are both expected to be involved after missing the Wolves loss.
Alex McCarthy for Ramsdale is a straight swap in goal, and Martin may shoe-horn Yukinari Sugawara into a central defensive role in place of Bednarek, unless Nathan Wood finally makes his first Premier League appearance of the season.
Southampton possible starting lineup:
McCarthy; Walker-Peters, Sugawara, Stephens, Harwood-Bellis, Manning; Armstrong, Downes, Aribo, Fernandes; Archer
Liverpool possible starting lineup:
Kelleher; Bradley, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Mac Allister, Gravenberch; Salah, Jones, Gakpo; Nunez
We say: Southampton 0-3 Liverpool
Whether Southampton can dominate possession as they like to do against Slot's Liverpool machine remains to be seen, but the Saints should be let down by their lack of ruthlessness whether that is the case or not.
An injury-hit and reshuffled defence should not keep the Reds at arm's length for long either, and we can only envisage the league leaders either maintaining or extending their insurmountable lead at the summit.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ben Knapton
