MANCHESTER CITY VS SOUTHAMPTON: PREVIEW
- kyle dimond
- Nov 2, 2018
- 3 min read
Defending champions Manchester City host Southampton this weekend as City look to continue their impressive home form this season.
The game will be played at the Etihad Stadium at 3pm on Sunday and has not been selected for broadcast in the UK.
City have been able to continue their run of form when playing at home from the previous season. They have scored 18 goals in 5 home games this season and only conceded two.
In their previous game, they beat a fairly strong Fulham side 2-0 without much danger of losing.
Fulham made three changes to their side for the Carabao Cup fixture whilst City made 10. It was Brahim Diaz who scored both of City’s goals despite rumours of him refusing to sign a new contract.
In other contract news, Raheem Sterling has reportedly verbally agreed to a new contract with City.
TEAM NEWS:
City midfielder Kevin de Bruyne will be out for five to six weeks with knee ligament damage he received in Thursday's Carabao Cup win over Fulham.
Ilkay Gundogan has now returned to training following a hamstring injury but is a doubt for Sunday's match.
Southampton have no fresh injury concerns and have a fully-fit squad to choose from for Sunday's test.
Pierre Hojbjerg is available for selection following an illness he has now recovered from.
THE MANAGERS:
City boss Pep Guardiola gave more details on de Bruyne's injury - which is the second injury for the Belgium international this season.
“Kevin is out and we are sad for him, nobody likes to have injured players but he will come back to the player he is and he will be fine," Guardiola said. "It is what it is but fortunately it is not surgery and he will be back.”
Guariola has also revealed that he is impressed with what he's seen from Sunday's opposition this Sunday.
“I am impressed with the quality Southampton have in the middle and at the front," Guardiola continued.
"They have huge talent and are so deep and so physical. It is so complicated to beat them. We must be sharp and move well and be clever. It will be a tough game.”
Despite Guardiola’s comments on Southampton’s quality in the middle and at the front, they have failed to score a goal in their last five Premier League games. In their last game they drew 0-0 at home to Newcastle and currently sit 16th in the table.
They faired reasonably against Guardiola’s record-breaking side last year, losing by one goal on both occasions that they met with one of those games being the last game of the season where City scored the winner deep into added time.
Southampton have managed to keep two clean sheets in a row and boss Mark Hughes has revealed that is down to their hard work off-the-pitch.
“That was the basis of our work in the last few weeks," Hughes revealed. "It has allowed us to have a platform and has added to the confidence within the group.
"Clearly, we are playing City at the weekend and need to be at our best with our defensive work.”
Hughes also spoke about the quality of the champions but does believe there are weaknesses ready to expose on the weekend.
“There are elements of any team that you can look to exploit, no matter how good they are. They get into winning positions very quickly which we can’t let happen," Hughes added.
MATCH STATS:
- City have beaten Southampton in seven of their last nine Premier League matches, drawing once and losing once, as well.
- The Saints are without a win in their last eight visits to the Etihad Stadium in all competitions.
- City are the only team in the Premier League this season to have won all of their five Premier League home games so far.
- Striker Sergio Aguero is one goal short of becoming the ninth player in Premier League history to reach the 150-goal mark.
- Southampton winger Nathan Redmond has an unwanted record this season: 19 shots without a goal this season.
BETTING ODDS:
Manchester City: 1/9
Draw: 10/1
Southampton: 28/1
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