Manchester City will continue their defence of the Premier League title this Saturday when they welcome Southampton to the Etihad Stadium.
Venue: Etihad Stadium (Manchester)
Key Statistics
Manchester City are unbeaten in their last eleven competitive games (W8, D3).
The hosts have scored 17 goals in their last five games.
They have won their last eleven home games.
They have scored 29 goals in the league this season.
Pep Guardiola’s side have kept three clean sheets in their last five games in all competitions.
Southampton have scored eight goals and conceded 13 times in the league this season.
The Saints have failed to score in three of their last five games league games.
They have won just one of their last eleven away league games (D3, L8).
Head to head
In 36 Premier League meetings between both sides, Manchester City have 20 wins while Southampton have just seven wins (D9). However, the Saints have not lost to City in their last two Premier League meetings (D2).
Latest performances in all competitions
Manchester City: W-W-W-W-W
Southampton: L-L-L-W-L
Manchester City
Manchester City will look to make it six wins in a row when they welcome Southampton to the Etihad this Saturday.
The hosts continued their hot form with a 5-0 win over FC Copenhagen in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday at the Etihad. The win was their 11th win at the Etihad in a row.
In those 12 games, Pep Guardiola’s side scored a whopping 48 goals–six of which came in their 6-3 win over Manchester United in the Premier League last weekend.
This season, the Cityzens lead the Premier League scoring charts, having scored 29 times. That number is the highest in all of Europe’s top five leagues so far this term. New City signing Erling Haaland have a hand in 17 of those goals, having scored 14 and assisted three in just eight league games.
The Norwegian has been in remarkable form since he arrived at the Etihad and will be expected to continue his hot goal-scoring form in this game having been given 45 minutes of rest against FC Copenhagen on Wednesday.
With table-toppers Arsenal not in action until Sunday when they play Liverpool, City can go top of the table if they win this game. But given that they failed to win Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side in the league last season, Guardiola will know that this tie is not going to be a straightforward win.
Possible Manchester City starting line-up
Ederson Moraes, Joao Cancelo, Ruben Dias, Manuel Akanji, Sergio Gomez; Kevin De Bruyne, Rodri, Bernardo Silva; Riyad Mahrez, Phil Foden, Erling Haaland.
Injured: Kyle Walker, John Stones, Kalvin Phillips
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Southampton
While Manchester City look to extend a winning run, Southampton will look to end a run of three straight losses when they travel to Manchester on Saturday.
The Saints have lost five times this season, with only the bottom two Leicester City and Nottingham the only team to have lost more. Their last outing was an embarrassing 2-1 loss to Everton and took their points tally for the season to a miserly seven points (W2, D1, L5).
They come into this tie sitting just one point ahead of Wolves who occupy the last relegation spot on the league table.
Ralph Hasenhüttl is under pressure to get his side back in shape and could be given the boot if he does not overturn his side’s poor form. But Manchester City is not an easy opponent to get his side back on track, especially away from him where the Saints have won just one of their last eleven away league games (D3, L8).
Possible Southampton starting line-up
Gavin Bazunu; Kyle Walker-Peters, Armel Bella-Kotchap, Jan Bednarek, Mohammed Salisu, Moussa Djenepo; James Ward-Prowse, Sekou Mara, Joe Aribo; Mohamed Elyounoussi, Che Adams.
Injured: Valentino Livramento, Romeo Lavia
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Prediction
Manchester City 3-0 Southampton
