Southampton vs Liverpool Bet Builder Tips: Salah the scourge of Saints again in 5/1 shot

Liverpool head to St Mary's Stadium on Sunday afternoon (14:00, Sky Sports Main Event) safe in the knowledge that no matter their result or that of any other Premier League side, their top spot is safe for another week at least. Their hosts, Southampton, sit at the opposite end of the table, and need to win this weekend and hope other games go their way to rise from 20th.

Below you can read my Southampton vs Liverpool Bet Builder tips, where I have combined four legs to produce a 5/1 Bet Builder in this bottom versus top clash on the south coast.

Southampton vs Liverpool Odds

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Football Odds

Match Result - Liverpool Win

Starting pretty simple, I'm backing Premier League leaders Liverpool to beat bottom-club Southampton on Sunday. 24 points separate these sides heading into this weekend's contest, despite only 11 rounds being played prior to the November international break.

Southampton have picked up just four points from the 33 available to them, the first of those coming in a 1-1 draw with Ipswich Town at St Mary's on September 21. Their only win, however, did come in their last home game on November 2, when they beat another Merseyside club - Everton - 1-0.

Russell Martin's charges have already lost against both of Liverpool's Premier League title rivals, though, suffering a 3-1 defeat away to Arsenal on October 5 before going down 1-0 at Manchester City three weeks later.

While the Saints have only picked up points in two league games so far, Liverpool have only dropped points in two, winning nine of their 11 top-flight fixtures under Arne Slot. The Reds lost 1-0 at home to Nottingham Forest on September 14 and drew 2-2 with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on October 27, but aside from those two results, the reigning Carabao Cup champions have been pretty faultless.

Sunday's hosts are missing some key players this week, notably goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale and defender Jan Bednarek, making their task even more difficult than it already was. It would be a big shock if the visitors didn't collect maximum points this weekend, and I fully expect them to do so.

Player Goals - Mohamed Salah (LIV) Anytime Goalscorer

Another fairly obvious shout, but one still worth backing in my opinion. Heading into the weekend, Mohamed Salah (eight goals) trailed only Man City star Erling Haaland (12) in the Golden Boot race, and after finding the net against Chelsea, Arsenal, Brighton & Hove Albion and Aston Villa, the 'Egyptian King' is looking to make it five Premier League games in a row with a goal on Sunday.

Half (four) of his league strikes this season have come on the road so he's certainly no home comforts hero, and he has a great record in this fixture having netted seven times for the Reds in 11 previous Premier League appearances against Southampton - only Robbie Fowler (eight) and Ian Rush (10) have struck more times in the top flight against the Saints.

The 32-year-old was afforded an international break after being allowed to rest and recuperate rather than join up with the Egypt national team, who were already qualified for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations going into their final two qualifiers this month.

As such, he should be fresh for the trip down south, and that spells danger for the Saints.

Player Stats - Ibrahima Konate (LIV) 1+ Shots

Up next we have Liverpool and France defender Ibrahima Konate to take at least one shot. The 25-year-old's talents have been known for a long time now but after remaining injury-free so far this season, we have really seen the best of him and on form, he is one of the best central defenders in Europe, let along the Premier League.

He should arrive into Sunday's contest with even more confidence after captaining his national team to top spot in Uefa Nations League Group A2 in the absence of Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappe. Konate's leadership skills have been on display more than ever and he really looks to be dominating the changing room as much as he does strikers on the pitch.

It's fair to say that he's taken on more responsibility at set-pieces, too, particularly at corners that are awarded to Liverpool. Konate is averaging 0.7 shots in the Premier League this season and he scored his first goal in the competition in the 2-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux on September 28.

His last two appearances in the Premier League have brought about a combined three shots as he took two in the 2-1 victory over Brighton at Anfield on November 2, despite being taken off at half-time, and one a week later in the 2-0 success against Aston Villa.

In total, he's registered eight shots across 10 league starts this term, and with Liverpool averaging 5.8 corners taken per game, the Frenchman should get the chance to double his goal tally in the division.

Player Stats - Taylor Harwood-Bellis (SOU) 1+ Shots

Lastly, we go to another centre-back, but this time on the Southampton side, where Taylor Harwood-Bellis will have to be at his best to help guard against some of the finest attackers in the land.

It's what he does in the opposition's box that I'm more interested in, however, as the final leg of this Bet Builder requires the 22-year-old to attempt at least one shot. That's something he has done in six of his last seven games, only failing to register one at the home of the reigning Premier League champions, Man City, last month.

Harwood-Bellis took one v Ipswich, two v AFC Bournemouth, one v Arsenal, two v Leicester City, two v Everton, and one last time out v Wolves, meaning he is averaging 0.8 shots per game across his 11 competition appearances (10 starts).

The Man City Academy graduate scored in his side's 3-1 defeat to Bournemouth on September 30 and notched his first goal for the senior England national team on his debut against the Republic of Ireland last Sunday, so like Konate, he should be buoyed by his recent international involvement.

Liverpool, meanwhile, have conceded a shot to an opposing centre-back in their last four games across all competitions (Aston Villa - Diego Carlos, Edmond Tapsoba - Bayer Leverkusen and Jan Paul van Hecke - Brighton, PL & Carabao Cup).

Offers

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