<a href="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/09/soton.jpg"></a><figure class="image"><a href="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/09/soton.jpg"><img loading="lazy" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-117296" src="https://ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https://images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/full/WST_20140926_CMS_117295_soton-600x450_11b1e947.webp&amp;width=600&amp;height=450" alt="soton" width="600" height="450" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px"></a></figure>
After selling the club captain and second top scorer of last season, Southampton was viewed as a team you should fear for. People within football claimed they wouldn’t be surprised if <a href="worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/2014/09/19/southamptons-august-september-progress-report/">Southampton</a> weren’t able to survive this Premiership season but with only one defeat so far this season and recently defeating Arsenal in the Capital One Cup, should Southampton be viewed as a team you should be fearful of?
The story of Southampton this season is a widely known and eventful one, losing their manager to Tottenham hotspurs, selling three players to Liverpool (Rickie Lambert, <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/2014/09/25/adam-lallana-ready-to-make-his-mark-for-liverpool/">Adam Lallana</a>, Dejan Lovren) and with Manchester United 27 million pounds on teenager Luke Shaw they were looking like a team with no depth, no quality and no hope. The club’s outgoings came to a total of 88 million pounds returned to the club, so with a wide sum of money and the whole summer being given to new manager Ronald Koeman, he was given what seemed the impossible take to replace great players with similar quality.
Koeman formally of Dutch side Feyenoord decided to scout the Dutch league he had been accustomed to and purchased Duscan Tadic of FC Twente and Graziano Pelle of his former side Feyenoord. He spent a combined total of 18.9 million pounds, which was seen as a large sum of money for a team like Southampton.
The money continued going out for Southampton with goalkeeper Fraser Forster, Shane Long and Sadio Mane being purchased for over 10 million pound each. Southampton spent a total of 56.7 million pounds with also Toby Alderweireld and Ryan Bertrand coming in on loan to try and reinvest on what was a very different Southampton.
First game of the season saw Southampton play against Liverpool away from home, they lost the game 2-1 but could be argued that they played the better of the two sides and were very unlucky not to get something at Anfield. They’ve gone on to draw one and win three games, bettering the first five games of last season by two points. They’ve also scored more goals (nine goals) than last season (four goals), so with the fantastic start to the season can Southampton be seen as a team to push for the top spots?
To compare the top four of last season (Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal) first five games and Southampton’s current campaign to see if their start is similar to the teams which ended in those exclusive four positions:
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td width="90">Team</td>
<td width="33">Won</td>
<td width="41">Drawn</td>
<td width="30">Lost</td>
<td width="55">Goals For</td>
<td width="76">Goals against</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="90">Manchester City</td>
<td width="33">3</td>
<td width="41">1</td>
<td width="30">1</td>
<td width="55">12</td>
<td width="76">4</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="90">Liverpool</td>
<td width="33">3</td>
<td width="41">1</td>
<td width="30">1</td>
<td width="55">5</td>
<td width="76">3</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="90">Chelsea</td>
<td width="33">3</td>
<td width="41">1</td>
<td width="30">1</td>
<td width="55">6</td>
<td width="76">2</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="90">Arsenal</td>
<td width="33">4</td>
<td width="41">0</td>
<td width="30">1</td>
<td width="55">11</td>
<td width="76">6</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="90">Southampton</td>
<td width="33">3</td>
<td width="41">1</td>
<td width="30">1</td>
<td width="55">9</td>
<td width="76">4</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
As you can see the way Southampton has started is very similar to the top four of last year – a sign of things to come?
Koeman is a very experienced manager – having coached in four countries his pedigree could be vital for the Saints. Somewhat of an underdog similar to Southampton, he has never been given the full praise he deserves and will be looking to show his credentials in a team which was dismantled. With 10 players being sold last season (with a further seven players being loaned out) and seven players being brought in, the early success could be down to a new manager able to bring his way of coaching straight into what is a new Southampton side. If they had kept the players of last term and had Koeman came in, it could have been difficult to adjust to what was already a settled side.
The key for Southampton this year is to avoid injuries – James Ward-Prowse has recently been sidelined for 10 weeks, is a massive loss as he has been a key part to Southampton’s early success. With so many players leaving the club, the squad will be very thin. Injuries to first team players will cause problems as they don’t have adequate depth to rotate the team.
Claiming Southampton to fight for the top four may just be out of their reach, but sitting second in the league is a great platform to work with. If Koeman can keep the players fresh and the results keep coming, then perhaps a fairytale is in the making.

Southampton Capable Of Springing A Surprise And Competing With The Big Guns

Southampton Capable Of Springing A Surprise And Competing With The Big Guns - World Soccer Talk

<a href="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/09/everton-liver-e1411694004370.jpg"></a><figure class="image"><a href="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/09/everton-liver-e1411694004370.jpg"><img loading="lazy" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-117277" src="https://ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https://images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/full/WST_20140926_CMS_117276_everton-liver-600x450_e22aec19.webp&amp;width=600&amp;height=450" alt="everton liver" width="600" height="450"></a></figure>
With both Liverpool and Everton desperate for a win, there is an extra importance to this forthcoming tie. The nervous fans of either camp need a sign that their season is not lost- what better way to show this than to beat your rivals.
Liverpool and <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/2014/09/25/evertons-start-to-the-season-has-been-naive-inept-and-utterly-inexcusable/">Everton</a> are currently sat in 11th&nbsp;and 14th&nbsp;in the table respectively, so both sides come into this crunch match with a similar story&nbsp;–&nbsp;one of elation from last season’s adventures, and despair this time around.
Brendan Rodgers’ Liverpool – only five games into the campaign – have already lost three matches. It took until December of last year for Liverpool to register the same number of losses in the 2013/2014 season.
Roberto Martinez’s Everton have already conceded 13 goals in their first five games of the Premier League season.
It is clear something is off with both teams. Defending is the main factor in Everton’s downfall currently, and with two draws in their last five games- their inability to see games out is also a cause for concern for Martinez.
Liverpool on the other hand, whilst looking shaky at the back, will be more concerned by their performance in midfield and attack. Steven Gerrard’s wavering form is contributing to the team’s lack of control in midfield and the team as a whole do not look like they can reach anywhere near last season’s 100-odd goal tally. Who knew that losing one of the best strikers in the world would have such an effect eh?
Key players from both teams will miss this tie due to injury so the job of predicting the starting XI’s is made easier. Steven Pienaar and Seamus Coleman both face late fitness tests, but it is likely neither of them will start the match. Ross Barkley remains unavailable due to a knee ligament injury.
It’s safe to say that Martinez trusts Steven Naismith in the big games, which is why I think he’ll start him, perhaps in a free role behind Romelu Lukaku. Naismith is certainly one to watch out for. A hard working and versatile player, his class is often overlooked… His performance could be one of the deciding factors in the result.
Aiden McGeady and Kevin Mirallas will likely come back into the side, having featured frequently during the first few games of the campaign. Samuel Eto’o will likely come off the bench to play a part.
Whilst Liverpool’s <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/2014/09/25/adam-lallana-ready-to-make-his-mark-for-liverpool/">Adam Lallana</a> and Raheem Sterling bizarrely played 120 minutes of Capital One Cup football in midweek, I cannot see past them starting either side of Mario Balotelli. If Phillipe Coutinho is fit enough, I see him returning to the Liverpool starting XI, ahead of Lucas, to join Gerrard and Jordan Henderson in a midfield three.
As always, Sterling is a player to watch with expectancy. Since we first saw him in a Liverpool shirt, he showed pace and skill – a bums on seat sort of player. But this season, his performances have gone onto a whole new level. This could be put down to good coaching and a good pre-season, perhaps a natural maturing cycle with age, but most definitely, the loss of Suarez has given him more responsibility. He is everywhere on the pitch; playmaking, tackling and scoring. It will be interesting to see how his performance is effected after playing 120 minutes of football just days previous.
The defence pretty much picks itself – with Glen Johnson and Jon Flanagan out injured, Spanish youngsters Alberto Moreno and Javier Manquillo will fill up the full-back positions. It seems that Rodgers favors Dejan Lovren at left centre back over Mamadou Sakho, so Lovren will probably pair up with Martin Skrtel at the heart of the defence.
Liverpool supporters remain hopeful that Daniel Sturridge’s return from injury could come this weekend, but Rodgers concedes ‘he certainly won’t be match fit’. We may see him come off the bench.
Joe Allen and Emre Can are other notable Liverpool absentees through injury.
After impressive campaigns last season, both Martinez and Rodgers just cannot seem to find a winning formula. Admittedly, player form and injuries have negatively influenced the two teams’ fortunes thus far. But what’s most striking is that, in contrast to last season, neither of these talented managers can find a way to compensate. Being a derby, the focus is on the pitch – the effort and determination of the players is critical – but this match could very much be seen as a battle off it, between Rodgers and Martinez
Anfield plays host to what is essentially a must-win game for both teams – a strange situation so early on in the season. Quite simply neither side can afford to drop even lower in the table, and whilst a win may not result in a huge positional climb, it would result in a swing of momentum. There would be a sense – for the players, and the fans – that ‘Our season starts now’.
Predicted XI’s:
Liverpool
<a href="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/09/Screenshot-1.png"></a><figure class="image"><a href="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/09/Screenshot-1.png"><img loading="lazy" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-117279" src="https://ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https://images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/full/WST_20140926_CMS_117276_Screenshot-1_08addace.webp&amp;width=318&amp;height=429" alt="Screenshot (1)" width="318" height="429" srcset="https://images.futbolsites.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/09/17050459/Screenshot-1.png 318w, https://images.futbolsites.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/09/17050459/Screenshot-1-150x202.png 150w, https://images.futbolsites.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/09/17050459/Screenshot-1-300x404.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 318px) 100vw, 318px"></a></figure>
Everton
<a href="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/09/Screenshot-4.png"></a><figure class="image"><a href="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/09/Screenshot-4.png"><img loading="lazy" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-117280" src="https://ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https://images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/full/WST_20140926_CMS_117276_Screenshot-4_f1e9df79.webp&amp;width=321&amp;height=430" alt="Screenshot (4)" width="321" height="430" srcset="https://images.futbolsites.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/09/17050458/Screenshot-4.png 321w, https://images.futbolsites.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/09/17050458/Screenshot-4-150x200.png 150w, https://images.futbolsites.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/09/17050458/Screenshot-4-300x401.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 321px) 100vw, 321px"></a></figure>

Liverpool vs. Everton – A Merseyside Derby With An Extra Edge

Liverpool vs. Everton - A Merseyside Derby With An Extra Edge - World Soccer Talk

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Southampton Capable Of Springing A Surprise And Competing With The Big Guns

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Liverpool vs. Everton – A Merseyside Derby With An Extra Edge