Southampton travel to the Etihad for the second time in five days as Manchester City look for two wins in a week against the Saints.
The two teams met on Tuesday night in an EFL Cup Round of 16 tie. Man City progressed to the quarter-finals with a comfortable 3-1 victory and manager Pep Guardiola will be looking for more of the same on Saturday.
Nicolas Otamendi got on the scoresheet as he returned from injury, while goals either side of half-time from Sergio Aguero ensured Jack Stephens’ goal on 75 minutes was merely a consolation.
Southampton could only manage five shots, while Man City had 19 attempts and completely dominated the possession. City’s 77% share of the ball underlining their dominance.
Guardiola’s side have now won their last four games in all competitions, scoring 13 goals in the process. This doesn’t bode well for a Southampton team that has lost their last four matches, while conceding 17 goals.
Southampton’s last league match ended in a 9-0 humiliation at the hands of Leicester City. This equaled the biggest ever defeat in Premier League history, and has seen Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men drop into the relegation zone.
With just two wins from ten league games this season, Southampton’s tally of eight points has left the Austrian fighting to save his job.
As well as having the unwanted tag of the division’s worst defensive record, only two teams have scored fewer goals than the Saints in the Premier League. Hasenhuttl’s problems clearly lie at both ends of the pitch.
On the other hand, Manchester City find themselves second having won seven of their ten league games so far. Still, Guardiola’s side remain six points behind first-place Liverpool.
City have scored 32 goals in the league this term – seven more than the division’s next top-scorer Leicester – so the team is averaging just over three goals per game. They also boast the second-best defensive record.
Manchester City have won the last six meetings between the two teams. Five of those six matches have produced three or more goals, while the aggregate score line from the team’s league matches last season was 9-2 in favour of City.
All the signs are pointing towards another comfortable win for Manchester City on Saturday. Southampton are enduring a dismal run of form, so City are likely to be at their ruthless best.
Forebet predicts that Man City will cruise to the victory, and that both teams will score in a high-scoring home win.