Premier League Premium Play 08/17: Liverpool vs Southampton

Soccer Pick #1: Premier League - Liverpool vs Southampton

Rating: 3 units - Single Dime Play

Pick: Liverpool (-1.25) @ -108 / 1.92 on Pinnacle Sports (OR -120 / 1.83 on Betonline)

Detailed Write up:

It was a weird inaugural day in the Premier League w/ all the home teams struggling to win their games. Only Arsenal won their game but they needed a late game in extra-time to beat C. Palace. We’ve lost w/ them our AH-1.5 play and deservedly so, because Arsenal’s offensive flow simply didn't exist for the majority of the time.

For this contest, I expect the home team Liverpool to easily dispatch the Saints. Liverpool lost Luis Suarez on the off-season but their structure and system remains virtually the same. Their “verticality” and speed on the front is impressive w/ P. Coutinho assuming a bigger role in the midfield! In their last friendly match, they crushed the Germans’ giants Borussia Dortmund by 4-0, and it looked like we were watching the same team that roll past everyone (sans Chelsea) at home in the Premier League last season.

If Liverpool will deploy almost the same team of last season w/ some minor changes, the same thing cannot be said about Southampton! The Saints sold almost all their best players (some of them for this Liverpool) and have a new head coach in Ronald Koeman. Their new signings IMO aren’t in the same quality level vs. the players that left the club, and more importantly, they will need some time to get the proper team chemistry – a glaring contrast when we compare them vs. Liverpool.