Sturridge closing in on Kuyt's PL record

The Dutchman netted in five consecutive top-flight games in the 2010-11 season, though Michael Owen achieved the feat in a sequence that spanned the end of the 2000-01 campaign and the start of the following season.

Here are all the facts and figures ahead of the clash with the Saints from club statto Ged Rea.

Sturridge has scored in all of the Reds' home games this season. The last man to score in four successive Anfield fixtures for the club in league and cup was Fernando Torres in April 2010.

Our No.15 has scored 12 goals in his last 10 games in league and cup and has found the net 10 times in his last nine league appearances.

Should he score on Saturday he will become only the second Liverpool player ever to score in the opening five games of a league campaign - the other being John Aldridge in 1987 who found the net in each of the first nine games in Division One, and he also netted on the final day of the 1986-87 season.

The last man to score in six successive Liverpool games in league and cup was Steven Gerrard in December 2007 (he scored in seven in a row).

If the Reds beat the Saints they will record their 400th victory in the Premier League.

Last season the Reds won 1-0 on this ground with Daniel Agger scoring the only goal after 43 minutes - his first goal of the season.

In the return on the south coast, Southampton won 3-1 with goals from Morgan Schneiderlin, Rickie Lambert and Jay Rodriguez. Philippe Coutinho had halved the deficit on the stroke of half-time.

The last two Anfield meetings have resulted in 1-0 Liverpool wins. The last time the Reds won a third successive home game against the Saints was in December 1990.

Liverpool's biggest Premier League victory came in January 1999 when they beat Southampton 7-1.

Robbie Fowler is the only Liverpool player to score a hat-trick against Saints. He did so twice, in October 1993 and January 1999.

Liverpool have failed to score in only four of the 48 meetings with the Saints at Anfield in all competitions.

In last season's meeting at St. Mary's Jordon Ibe was named in the Reds' matchday squad for the first time.

A win will give Liverpool their highest points tally in the Premier League after five games (13) while they have never topped the Premier League after their opening five fixtures.

Southampton have won four of the last six league meetings against the Reds.

They are aiming to record back-to-back league wins over Liverpool for only the second time in almost 52 years - the last was in 2003-04.

Saints' last win at Anfield came in December 2003.

Southampton have won four of their last 21 away games in the Premier League and their three wins on the road last season came at QPR, Aston Villa and Reading.

Southampton's best ever Premier League finish was eighth in 2002-03. At the time they were managed by Gordon Strachan.

Southampton's four league wins at Anfield have all come by the odd goal - they won 1-0 in 1960 and 1981, 3-2 in 1998 and 2-1 in 2003.

After scoring 79 league goals in the previous three seasons in the lower divisions Rickie Lambert was the club's leading scorer last season with 15 goals. Earlier this month he became the first man since Peter Taylor in 1976 to score on each of his first two appearances for England.

Southampton have won one of their last 10 league games - a 1-0 opening day win at West Brom courtesy of Lambert's injury-time penalty.

Their other three games this season have seen them draw 1-1 at home to Sunderland and lose 1-0 at Norwich before last Sunday's goalless draw with West Ham at St Mary's.

The two league goals the Saints have scored this season have been scored from the 88th minute onwards.

Scorers this season: (league in brackets)

Liverpool: Sturridge 6 (4), Henderson 1 (0), Moses 1 (1), Sterling 1 (0).

Southampton: S. Davis 2 (0), Fonte 1 (1), Lambert 1 (1), Mayuka 1 (0), Ramirez 1 (0), Rodriguez 1 (0).