We have 5 matches to look forward to in the English League Cup on Tuesday night, one of which involves the defending champions, Manchester City. Pep Guardiola’s team play host to Southampton at the Etihad Stadium in a match the home fans will be expecting to see their team win comfortably.
It is a big night for Southampton's players and manager as this is their first game since the 9-0 home defeat by Leicester City in the Premier League. What sort of response can we expect from Southampton and can they cause an upset by winning this match and progressing into the fifth round of the League Cup ?
Manchester City come into this match having recorded a 3-0 win over Aston Villa at home in the Premier League on Saturday. They were made to work hard in the first half but came out and scored an early goal in the second half before taking the game away from Aston Villa. That result means Manchester City have won each of their last 3 games in all competitions, two of which have been in the Premier League and one in the Champions League.
They are undefeated in 6 of their 7 home matches this season and Manchester City have lost only one of their last 22 Home games in all competitions, winning 21.
Trends show Manchester City have won each of their last 13 League Cup games and each of their last 7 at home. Manchester City have scored 2 or more goals in 6 of those 7 victories and have kept 3 clean sheets in their last 4.
Southampton need to pick themselves up following their embarrassing defeat at home to Leicester City in the Premier League on Friday night. It was a disastrous performance and the Saints failed to cope having gone down to 10 men early in the match. The fans will be looking for a much improved display in this game but could not have asked for a tougher opponent.
Southampton have failed to win any of their last 4 matches, losing 3 and drawing one. In fact, their only victory in their last 6 games has been in the League Cup and they defeated rivals Portsmouth 4-0 away from home. That was their only clean sheet in their last 6 matches in all competitions.
However, Southampton have lost only one of their last 6 away games this season, suggesting they are better suited to playing on the road. The Saints have scored in each of those 6 matches.
Team news and Manchester City are expected to make several changes to the team which played on the weekend. Expect to see Claudio Bravo, Eric Garcia, Angelino, Phil Foden, Riyad Mahrez and Kyle Walker among others to come into the starting XI.
Southampton are without the suspended Ryan Bertrand following his red card on Friday. Moussa Djenepo has a tendon injury and there are doubts over the fitness of Cedric Soares and Sam McQueen.
This has become a huge game for Southampton following the defeat to Leicester City and they are sure to set up defensively. However, they are unlikely to be able to keep out Manchester City who should come out on top comfortably and score a few goals in the process.