Southampton fan Stuart Howden fears Virgil van Dijk could be a 'thorn in our side' when Liverpool take on his team at St Mary's on Sunday.

The Netherlands international returns to his former club for the first time since joining the Reds on January 1, as they meet in a Premier League clash on the south coast.

Ahead of the game, Stuart gave us the lowdown on Saints’ form so far this season, the stewardship of Mauricio Pellegrino, why he is worried Van Dijk could influence the outcome, and more…

Was the win at West Bromwich Albion last weekend a potential turning point for Saints?

Yes, definitely. We haven’t had a great season by any stretch, but in many games we’ve played well enough to win but failed to get the three points we deserved. We’ve had a lot of draws recently and converting the WBA game into a win and scoring three goals will have filled the players with confidence. Hopefully we’ll start turning draws into wins, starting with Liverpool!

Pellegrino is a former Reds player. What kind of a manager has he been for Southampton so far?

In a word, underwhelming. The idea of replacing [Claude] Puel was to have a manager who could get more from a good squad on paper. Six months in and Pellegrino has been worse than Puel in doing this.

He is very defensive-minded and his use of overly cautious tactics has created a lack of productivity up front, isolating the lone striker he prefers playing. Pellegrino seems to be really wary of counter-attacks, which appears to have made our midfield very nervous about pushing on or being creative in the final third. We need that extra bit of spark in that area.

Too often Pellegrino likes to ‘park the bus’. We go a goal up and then he’ll get the team to sit back and try to hold on to the win rather than going for a second or third to kill the game off. We’ve had too many draws this year caused by that tactic.

How is he likely to approach this game?

Hopefully the same way we approached the WBA game. Pellegrino has made a few bizarre team selections this year, but last week we actually played most players in their ‘right’ positions and the midfield were clearly more attack-minded from the outset. With this change of mentality we can really take the game to Liverpool, whose defence is still exploitable.

Who have been your key performers?

It’s difficult to pick these as I think most of the players have been average at best for most of the season. A few players have had good games, like [Charlie] Austin and [Mario] Lemina, but haven’t been able to exploit these games either through injury or being inexplicably dropped. James Ward-Prowse has been excellent recently and just needs a regular run in the team, while Jack Stephens has scored three in three games from centre-back.

What have you made of Liverpool from afar this season?

A bit surprised, to be honest; I predicted top six and a good Champions League run for them. At the start of the season the Liverpool defence looked pretty shaky and I felt my prediction looked about right, but they’ve tightened things up and look good in the league now.

With so many of our ex-players in the team, I look at Liverpool and sometimes wonder ‘what if?’ I’m somehow torn between pride in old favourites performing well and hatred they are doing it for another team.

Liverpool are a good side to watch and while they won’t catch City, I see them challenging for runners-up.

Which Liverpool player worries you most, and why?

Mo Salah is playing so well at the moment and looks to be Liverpool’s danger man in most games, his direct running and off-the-ball movement causes defenders big problems. Ironically, though, I think Virgil will be the thorn in our side – he is excellent at attacking the football and we are very susceptible at set-pieces. Please don’t let that happen…

Any tips for away fans travelling to St Mary’s?

If you’re looking for pub/grub before the game you’re better off in the city centre, there are a good selection of bars, pubs and restaurants, including many that are away fan friendly. There is very little around St Mary’s and you’d be stuck with food outlets in the stadium – which aren’t bad, just limited.

A loud atmosphere awaits you in the stadium from passionate but friendly fans – so remember to bring your best singing voices.

Finally, what is your prediction?

Draw – 2-2.