Michael Owen shared that he expected Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita to start against Southampton on Saturday.
The former Reds forward revealed that he thought Jurgen Klopp may make a few changes to the side that defeat Paris Saint-Germain in midweek and stated he expected to see the 5ft 8in tall summer recruit (Source: Transfermarkt) be among those changes.
Owen went on to tip Keita to score his first Premier League goal in the game as he believes the central midfielder has goals in his locker and could break his Reds duck if given the nod to start against the Saints.
“It was a pleasure to be at Anfield midweek where Liverpool were good value for their 3-2 win over PSG in the Champions League. The Reds are unbeaten in their last 23 home PL games and I will be surprised if Southampton can stop the Red juggernaut,” wrote Owen in his BetVictor blog.
“Jurgen Klopp may shuffle his pack against the Saints and I expect to see Naby Keita restored to the starting XI. I feel the Reds midfielder has goals in his locker and may break his Liverpool duck if given the nod.”
OPINION
Owen weirdly steers away from directly predicting a win for the Reds, though his comments imply that he thinks that will be the case. The pundit stated that he would be surprised if the Saints could stop Klopp’s side when they face them on Saturday and he won’t be the only one to think that. The Reds have made a sensational start to the season and it doesn’t look like slowing down just yet especially against a side that are hardly firing on all cylinders. Mark Hughes’ team have won only one game so far and sit 16th in the table, which is disappointing for them given how their summer transfer business looked very good. Yet the Reds can’t afford to worry about the Saints and know they just have to keep doing what they’re doing in order to continue leading the way in the Premier League. While Saturday’s game against Hughes’ side is winnable, these are the sort of games the Reds need to avoid dropping points on and Klopp may need to rotate in case there are any tired legs among his first-team after they covered a lot of ground during their clash with PSG on Tuesday.
