After Manchester City’s midweek triumph, Pep Guardiola and his charges turn their attention to Premier League action where they face struggling Southampton on Saturday afternoon. Despite putting in two top performances to get draws against Man City last season, the Saints are not exactly in good form and face an extremely motivated and deadly Erling Haaland.
Man City have won their last five games on the bounce while Haaland netted his third hattrick of the PL season against Manchester United last weekend. The Citizens currently sit in second place, one point behind league leaders Arsenal – who face Liverpool on Sunday and could go first for at least 24 hours with a win over the Saints.
WHEN AND WHERE?
Day & Date: Saturday, 8th October 2022.
Kick-off: 3:00 PM (UK).
Venue: Etihad Stadium.
TEAM NEWS
Manchester City:
The Blues will be missing Kalvin Phillips (shoulder), John Stones (hamstring), and Kyle Walker (groin), who had successful surgery this week and is now racing against the clock to be ready for the World Cup. Pep has no other worries ahead of this match.
Southampton:
Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl is still missing Tino Livramento and Romeo Lavia since those two players are recovering from ACL and muscle injuries, respectively.
MATCH EXPECTATIONS
In recent seasons, Southampton have seemingly done well against Manchester City and could do same again if they can find a solution to the Erling Haaland problem. City have multiple routes to goal as has been seen in the last two games. Haaland remains the number one source of goals for the team.
For the Saints, the only way to avoid conceding within the first 20 minutes of the game. A solid, disciplined and measured defensive display is key to their chances of coming away with something. James Ward-Prowse would need to be at his mercurial best on set-pieces and his teammates would need to take advantage and hopefully pull a surprise on the Cityzens.
Predicted Lineups
Manchester City predicted lineup vs Southampton: Ederson; Cancelo, Dias, Ake, Gomez; De Bruyne, Rodri, Bernardo; Foden, Haaland, Grealish.
Southampton predicted lineup vs Manchester City: Bazunu; Walker-Peters, Bella-Kotchap, Salisu, Perraud; Armstrong, Ward-Prowse, Diallo, Aribo; Mara, Adams.
