Liverpool are returning from the international break in some unfamiliar territory as Jurgen Klopps side enters Saturdays clash with Southampton at St. Marys Stadium on top of the Premier League table with 26 points.The Reds also will try to run their unbeaten stretch to an impressive 13 games over all competitions.Liverpools lone defeat came in an uncharacteristic 2-0 slip to Burnley in which they held nearly 80 percent of possession, yet failed to get one past keeper Tom Heaton.The Reds (8-2-1) have already collected away wins against Chelsea and Arsenal, and managed draws versus Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur away from home. With Chelsea, Manchester City and the Gunners all within two points, the fixtures in December and January will go a long way toward deciding if Liverpool can widen their lead at the top.Beginning with this fixture, the Reds have a stretch of winnable matches against the likes of Sunderland, Bournemouth, West Ham, Middlesbrough, Everton, Stoke City and a home date with Man City on New Years Eve.If they want to remain at the summit by the turn of the year, Klopps boys will have to continue to churn out stellar performances similar to the way they dismantled Watford, 6-1, at Anfield prior to the break.Liverpools feared midfield core of Adam Lallana, Philippe Coutinho, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane have been the stars of the show thus far. They did plenty of damage against the struggling Hornets as Mane hit for a brace to go with goals from Firmino and Coutinho.Emre Can and Georginio Wijnaldum also scored during the rout.Liverpool have seemingly been the talk of the league, but the Klopp insists he does not listen to the noise coming from outside the walls of the clubs Melwood training ground.Of course, its better that they think something like this, than they say thank God its Liverpool at the weekend, so quite an easy game, Klopp told Goal.com. But in the end its not a big value for us, what other teams think about us -- its good and its positive but not too important.The main thing is that we actually think about ourselves: Yeah, we are quite a good team. We have big expectations on ourselves and Im not pessimistic, Im really optimistic, but I dont like to make these positive assessments all the time and say we are really good -- my God, how good are we?The Reds could be missing one of those midfield cogs as Lallanas status for Saturday is not yet known after he limped off the pitch in midweek during Englands 2-2 draw with Spain in a friendly.Southampton find themselves in decent position upon returning from the international break in 10th place. Claude Puels Saints (3-4-4) are aiming to snap a three-match winless run following a 2-1 defeat to Hull City at KCOM Stadium prior to the international hiatus.Charlie Austin converted a penalty after six minutes to stake the visitors to an early lead, but Robert Snodgrass and Michael Dawson struck in the span of two second-half minutes to secure the points for Hull.Cardiff City forward Rickie Lambert, who has played with Southampton and Liverpool during his career, sees this as a tight fixture.Its going to be a great game and a hard one to call, he told Premier League Productions. Liverpools unbelievable going forward at the moment but I think Southampton are one of the strongest teams defensively and as a team, going forward and defending, Southampton are a very, very good team.Southampton have conceded 12 league goals and are allowing a league-low 9.4 shots per contest. Theyll need to find a way to contain Liverpools attacking power if they hope to get a result.Each of the past eight matches in this fixture have seen a winner, with Southampton winning five and Liverpool winning three. Southampton collected four points against Liverpool last season, including a 3-2 home win in March. The sides drew 1-1 at Anfield in October. Zapatillas New Balance Baratas . First off, the fans ripped the Cubbies introduction of a fuzzy new kid-friendly mascot named "Clark". New Balance Outlet Online España . Uniteds eighth defeat of a wretched campaign means Liverpool, which currently occupies the fourth and final Champions League place, could go nine points clear of its fierce rival by beating West Bromwich Albion on Sunday. Charlie Adam scored both of Stokes goals at Britannia Stadium either side of Robin van Persies equalizer, with a miserable day for seventh-place United capped by first-half injuries to centre halves Jonny Evans and Phil Jones that forced them off. http://www.newbalancebaratas.es/ . Catch all the action on TSN2 at 11pm et/8pm pt. The nine-time Big 12 champion Jayhawks are positioning themselves for another title, as they have run out to a flawless 6-0 mark in conference play thus far. New Balance Baratas Outlet . Inter president Erick Thohir says in a club statement on Wednesday that Vidic is "one of the worlds best defenders and his qualities, international pedigree, and charisma will be an asset. New Balance Baratas España . 1, meaning problems for the doping controls at both major international sports events next year. The World Anti-Doping Agency provisionally suspended the Moscow Antidoping Center on Sunday, saying its operations must improve or a six-month ban on the facilitys accreditation will be imposed. Mo Williams surprised the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday when his agent called hours before the start of training camp to inform the team that Williams will be retiring.After dealing with chondromalacia (chronic knee pain) last season and debating his future throughout the summer, Williams announced last week that he would return for a 14th season. He then reversed course.Also Monday, J.R. Smith was absent as he and the Cavaliers were unable to reach an agreement on a contract. Smith has been seeking a long-term deal with the Cavs since July.Smith is an unrestricted free agent, so his situation is not considered a holdout. But this is the fourth time in the past 10 years a contract dispute has led to a Cavs player missing part of training camp. The team previously settled with Anderson Varejao, Sasha Pavlovic and Tristan Thompson?-- eventually -- though all three missed all of the preseason.We think very highly of J.R., we love him as a member of our team, Cavaliers general manager David Griffin said. As a member of our locker room, he was essential to our success. For that reason, weve made an incredibly competitive and aggressive offer to re-sign him. We hope that gets done in relatively short order. At the same time, weve been accustomed to a next-man-up mentality, and we expect this will be no different.The Cavs were aware of Williams indecision as the summmer unfolded, but they have still lost their two primary backups to starting point guard?Kyrie Irving.dddddddddddd Matthew Dellavedova signed a four-year, $38.5 million deal with the Milwaukee Bucks, and Williams has now retired.It was in debate what Mo was going to do; he vacillated a little bit, Griffin said. So we were planning for this eventuality. Were comfortable with where we are at the point guard position.The Cavs drafted a point guard, Kay Felder, with the No. 54 pick last summer. They also have?Jordan McRae, a player who finished the season with the team last year after being called up from the D-League. Of course, LeBron James also is expected to get significant minutes at point guard.The Cavs lack of depth at point guard was a factor in Williams briefly decision to continue playing.I just thought about repeating, thought about another championship and I didnt want to put the Cavs in a situation where [they didnt have a] guy [who] could come in and play five to 10 minutes that could help them win and be a difference, Williams told ESPN.com last week.Williams is owed $2.2 million in the upcoming season. Griffin declined to comment on whether the team would seek to buy out the contract as part of a retirement settlement. ' ' '