Man City vs Southampton: Match Preview & predictions
Man City vs Southampton: Match Preview & predictions. Pep Guardiola and his Manchester City side would be hoping to pour even more misery on newly-promoted Southampton this Saturday, when the two sides meet at the Etihad Stadium in a Premier League clash.
The reigning champions secured a late and controversial victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers last weekend to avoid another slip-up, but have looked far from convincing domestically without the likes of Rodri and Kevin De Bruyne, who are both out injured.
A 5-0 victory over Sparta Prague in the Champions League midweek should boost morale and they will be looking to inflict a similar scoreline on the winless Saints this weekend. A victory this weekend is of importance, given Arsenal and Liverpool face off each other on Sunday.
Southampton’s search for a Premier League victory has been agonising and a 98th-minute strike from Leicester City’s Jordan Ayew last weekend, saw them surrender a two-goal lead in another devastating defeat.
Securing a victory against City on the road will be borderline impossible but their recent trip to Arsenal showed their ability to cause the Premier League’s big dogs a few issues at the very least.
Here’s how we preview the Etihad clash this weekend.
What time does Man City vs Southampton kick-off?
Location: Manchester, England
Stadium: Etihad Stadium
Date: Saturday 26 October
Kick-off Time: 15:00 BST / 10:00 ET / 07:00 PT
Referee: Tony Harrington
VAR: David Coote
Man City vs Southampton H2H Record (Last Five Games)
Man City: 3 wins
Southampton: 1 win
Draws: 1
Last meeting: Southampton 1-4 Man City (8 April 2023) – Premier League
Man City team news;
City’s injury list is starting to grow at a pivotal moment in the season, with wingers Jeremy Doku and Jack Grealish now out of action. Elsewhere, Rodri and Oscar Bobb remain long-term absentees, while Kevin De Bruyne and Kyle Walker are still missing.
Pep Guardiola made a few alterations for the midweek demolition of Sparta Prague but the likes of Erling Haaland, Phil Foden, Savinho, Bernardo Silva and John Stones are all likely to retain their starting spots for Southampton’s visit.
Ederson should return between the sticks as Stefan Ortega drops out, while Mateo Kovacic – who scored twice in City’s last Premier League home match – is likely to replace Matheus Nunes despite the Portuguese impressing on Wednesday.
Man City predicted lineup vs Southampton
Man City lineup (4-2-3-1): Ederson; Lewis, Stones, Dias, Gvardiol; Kovacic, Gundogan; Savinho, Silva, Foden; Haaland.
Southampton team news;
Ryan Fraser will miss the journey to the Etihad after he was sent off against Leicester last weekend. Also missing are Ross Stewart, Gavin Bazunu and Will Smallbone – Russell Martin stating the latter will be out for “a little bit of time”.
The Southampton boss also confirmed that Yukinari Sugawara is touch-and-go to make the squad after he was withdrawn early against Leicester, but the south coast side do welcome Jack Stephens back from suspension.
Martin is likely to field a starting XI and formation that resembles the system he used against Arsenal before the October international break – five at the back with the intention of hitting City on the counter.
Southampton predicted lineup vs Man City
Southampton lineup (5-4-1): Ramsdale; Walker-Peters, Harwood-Bellis, Bednarek, Stephens, Manning; Dibling, Downes, Fernandes, Aribo; Archer.
Man City vs Southampton score prediction;
The good news for Southampton is that City may have one side-eye on a midweek Carabao Cup clash with Tottenham Hotspur.
However, there is no doubt that Guardiola’s charges should waltz to victory on Saturday, even if they have made life unnecessarily difficult for themselves at times this season. Haaland will be desperate to end his mini Premier League drought and a porous Saints defence could be the perfect opponent for the Norwegian.
This match will not define Southampton’s season but they may well escape from the Etihad with their dignity intact.
Prediction: Man City 4-0 Southampton
