Southampton unlikely to end scoring streak of Sturridge for second time

The fact that their meeting is on television in the next round of Premier League fixtures is not the only upcoming link between Liverpool and Southampton – the locations are also the final two stops on Guillem Balague’s promotional tour of his new book on Lionel Messi.

One of the big things most associated with Messi is goals, netting 12 already in 2014 in just 13 matches, at an average of a goal every 80 minutes.

This ties in perfectly with the Sky Sports encounter, as previous results this season suggest that goals are on the menu at St Mary’s, but Daniel Sturridge may have difficulty continuing to trump Messi in the calendar year.

Sturridge only needs to score against Southampton to be the sole owner of the Premier League record of being on target in the most consecutive games, which is a record of eight he currently shares with Ruud van Nistelrooy.

However, he has never scored against Southampton before and it was the Saints that have already shown an ability this season for ending a Sturridge scoring streak.

The England striker netted six times in his first five Liverpool appearances of the season, but Southampton kept Sturridge and the rest of the Reds quiet when leaving Anfield with a 1-0 win in late September.

Sturridge’s 10 goals in his last eight league appearances have come in just 522 minutes, which breaks down into a goal every 65 minutes.

He is 6/5 to score in the 90 minutes against Southampton and 9/2 to break the deadlock.

Meanwhile, 6/4 also looks a lucrative price on over 3.5 goals being scored in the match, given that this bet would have landed in Liverpool’s other three away games against top-10 opposition currently below them in the Premier League standings.

Southampton’s home showdowns with Champions League-chasing Arsenal and Tottenham have additionally witnessed a minimum of four goals this season.