Manchester City vs Southampton
Date: 02/11/2019
K/O: 15:00
Venue: Etihad Stadium
Referee: Lee Mason
Southampton visit the Etihad Stadium on Saturday for the second time this week, looking to reverse some of the misfortune that’s accompanied them in the past seven days.
Having been on the wrong end of the (joint) heaviest ever margin of victory on Friday evening against Leicester, and then managing a meagre 23% possession against Guardiola’s men midweek, the Saints desperately need a response.
Currently sitting 18th and in the relegation zone, the picture looks very different from when Ralph Hassenhutl first took over. Although he maintains that he retains the support of the Southampton board, he will need results sooner rather than later to prove himself worthy of it. Both the board and the fans have shown in the past that they are a very tolerant bunch, but in the modern football world it’s extremely hard to be that forgiving after a defeat that painful.
For City meanwhile, the weekend presents an opportunity to try and keep hot on Liverpool’s trail, as the sides play simultaneously today, but Liverpool are coming into their game at Aston Villa off the back of an exhilarating, yet surely exhaustive, midweek win over Arsenal.
Pep Guardiola will have noticed the frequency at which and the avail to which Ben Chilwell and Roberto Pereira got forward against Southampton, and will be tempted to start both Benjamin Mendy and Joao Cancelo to try and replicate the same success.
That being said, with injuries piling on, the City boss might just be forced to try and finish the game early – if at all possible – and revert his attention to next week’s mammoth clash with runaway leaders Liverpool, notwithstanding of course, the midweek Champions League fixture away to Serie A’s Atalanta.
Match stats and facts:
Manchester City have won each of their previous five Premier League meetings with Southampton, which is their longest winning run against the Saints.
Having won at the Etihad at their first-ever attempt (2004), S’oton are winless in their last eight away meetings against the Citizens.
City and Southampton occupy a polar opposite position with regards to goals this season, with City having scored 32 (the highest), and S’oton having conceded 25 (the highest).
Manchester City haven’t lost a home league game against a side starting (the matchday) in the relegation zone for almost 11 years now.
Merely one of City’s last 40 league games has ended in a draw
(Stats as per Google)
Team News:
Manchester City: Angelino was subbed off midweek against the Saints after a fairly good performance, but it was confirmed soon that the substitution was due to a cramp Angelino suffered, and not a muscular injury as was earlier feared.
“The guys who were injured are injured and the guys who are fit are fit,” was Pep’s answer in the presser. This suggests that club-record signing Rodri will fairly likely miss the game against Liverpool, with a prospective return after the international break later this month. Oleksandr Zinchenko also underwent surgery abroad and will return in four-six weeks.
Fernandinho served his one-match ban in the Carabao cup midweek and will be available for selection on Saturday. Having served the suspension, he is ‘free’ to pick up a yellow card this weekend and still make the Liverpool game Sunday next, as he wouldn’t have accumulated sufficient cards.
Sane and Laporte continue to be long term absentees.
Southampton: Ryan Bertrand will miss this match owing to the red card (and hence suspension) that he picked up against the Foxes last weekend. Also, Ralph Hassenhutl mentioned a little something about being able to see the players he could trust, and thereby mildly suggesting he could likewise see the ones he couldn’t. It’s possible that he allows the midweek XI another crack at the defending champions, but adding Ings and Redmond to the mix.
In terms of injury, Cedric Soares and Moussa Djenepo continue to be missed.
Predicted Starting XIs
Manchester City (4-3-3): Ederson; Joao Cancelo, Fernandinho, Nicolas Otamendi, Mendy; Gundogan, De Bruyne, David Silva; Bernardo, Jesus, Sterling
Southampton (3-5-2): McCarthy; Vestergaard, Stephens, Bednarek; Valery, Romeu, Ward-Prowse, Armstrong, Hojbjerg; Redmond, Ings
Scoreline Prediction: Manchester City 4-0 Southampton
I think Manchester City will once more enjoy the lion’s share of possession at the Etihad, and this time having De Bruyne and Silva starting in midfield, it could get a very exhausting night for the Saints midfield and defence who will have already been made to run to great extents this past week.
I expect the creators’ quality to shine through, and although Southampton will definitely get forward – especially from set-pieces – Ederson’s current form would see him add another clean sheet to his collection.
