Chris Sutton and Paul Merson in no doubt over Southampton vs Liverpool prediction

Soccer pundits Chris Sutton and Paul Merson are both tipping Liverpool to record a victory and a clean sheet against Southampton on Sunday.

The game at St. Mary's is a battle between top and bottom, with Arne Slot's side sitting pretty on 28 points from 11 matches and Saints having picked up just four points from the same amount of games.

Slot, however, praised Southampton during his pre-match press conference, stating his admiration for Russell Martin's side's style of play and saying that he doesn't expect a straightforward game.

Still, the pundits are expecting Liverpool to continue its incredible start to the season. Predicting a 2-0 win for the Reds, Sutton said in his BBC predictions: "Liverpool could not have wished for a better start under Arne Slot, whose side are five points clear at the top predictions. This is a game where everyone is expecting them to easily beat bottom side Southampton, and understandably so. I am expecting Liverpool to win too, but I don’t think it will be an absolute walloping.

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"Saints are scrapping and they proved they can be resilient when they lost narrowly to Manchester City at the end of last month, so they can make it hard for Slot's side too."

Meanwhile, Merson thinks Liverpool will go one better and register a 3-0 win. He told Sportskeeda: "I can't see anything but a Liverpool win here. The only game they lost this season was after the international break in September, but I doubt that will happen again. I can't see Southampton passing the ball around like they do for 90 minutes and not shoot themselves on the foot.

"I have a feeling Southampton will score though. But over the 90 minutes, they will get hammered. If Liverpool can take their chances, it could become a rout! Liverpool have the easiest fixture among the top three this weekend. If they win and the others slip-up, the title race is over. We're on thin ice with these teams at the moment."