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Preview: Manchester City vs. Southampton - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Saturday's Premier League clash between Manchester City and Southampton, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Manchester City will be looking to record their fifth straight win in all competitions when they welcome Southampton to the Etihad Stadium in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.

The Citizens have picked up nine points from their four league fixtures this term to occupy fifth spot in the table, while Southampton sit 14th, having collected three points from their four matches in 2021-22.


Match preview

Manchester City players celebrate Riyad Mahrez's goal against RB Leipzig on September 15, 2021© Reuters

Man City's 2021-22 campaign started in a disappointing fashion, as they lost to Leicester City in the Community Shield before suffering a 1-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in their Premier League opener, but Pep Guardiola's side have won their last four matches in all competitions since the clash in North London.

Three of those victories have arrived in the Premier League, scoring 11 times and conceding zero in their domestic fixtures with Norwich City, Arsenal and Leicester, which has seen them rise into fifth position in the table, one point behind leaders Manchester United.

Guardiola's side opened their 2021-22 Champions League group-stage campaign on Wednesday night, meanwhile, and recorded a 6-3 win over RB Leipzig to move to the top of Group A.

Man City have a busy end to the month, as they will take on Wycombe Wanderers in the EFL Cup on September 21 before the small matter of a trip to Chelsea in the Premier League four days later.

The Citizens will then end the month with an away game against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, and it is not as if it gets any easier, with a trip to Anfield to take on Liverpool following at the start of October.

West Ham United's Michail Antonio in action with Southampton's Romain Perraud on September 11, 2021© Reuters

Southampton, meanwhile, opened their Premier League season with a disappointing 3-1 loss at Everton, but the Saints are unbeaten in all competitions since then, including an 8-0 victory away to Newport County in the EFL Cup towards the end of August.

Ralph Hasenhuttl's side held Man United to a 1-1 draw in the Premier League on August 22 and have also shared the points with Newcastle United and West Ham United in their last two fixtures; a total of three points from four matches has left the team in 14th position in the table.

Southampton will also be in EFL Cup action next week, facing a trip to Sheffield United, before welcoming Wolverhampton Wanderers to St Mary's next weekend.

The Saints recorded a 1-0 victory over Man City in July 2020, but they suffered a 5-2 defeat at the Etihad Stadium in the corresponding match last season and have not actually been victorious away to the Citizens in England's top flight since April 2004.

Hasenhuttl will be aware of the size of the task facing his side, as they travel to a Man City team that has scored 16 times in their three home matches in all competitions at the start of the 2021-22 campaign.

Manchester City Premier League form:
  • L
  • W
  • W
  • W

Manchester City form (all competitions):
  • L
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • W

Southampton Premier League form:
  • L
  • D
  • D
  • D

Southampton form (all competitions):
  • L
  • D
  • W
  • D
  • D



Team News

Manchester City's Ferran Torres celebrates scoring their second goal with teammates on August 28, 2021© Reuters

Man City will again be without the services of Zack Steffen this weekend, as the number two goalkeeper is still self-isolating following a positive coronavirus test.

John Stones and Aymeric Laporte both missed out against Leipzig on Wednesday through injury, and the pair will again be absent for this match, so Nathan Ake should feature in central defence once again.

Kevin De Bruyne should again start in midfield, while Ilkay Gundogan could replace Bernardo Silva, but Phil Foden should continue on the bench following a long spell on the sidelines.

Guardiola could decide to bring Gabriel Jesus back into the starting XI, with Riyad Mahrez potentially dropping down to the bench against the Saints.

Southampton boss Hasenhuttl revealed during his press conference that both Stuart Armstrong and Theo Walcott remain unavailable for selection through injury.

William Smallbone is back in full first-team training after eight months on the sidelines, but the midfielder is unlikely to be involved on Saturday.

Shane Long, though, is available after recovering from coronavirus, and the attacker is expected to start on the bench against the Citizens, and he could be joined by Che Adams, with Nathan Redmond and Moussa Djenepo potentially supporting Adam Armstrong in the final third of the field.

Manchester City possible starting lineup:
Ederson; Walker, Ake, Dias, Cancelo; De Bruyne, Rodri, Gundogan; Jesus, Torres, Grealish

Southampton possible starting lineup:
McCarthy; Livramento, Stephens, Salisu, Perraud; Romeu, Ward-Prowse, Elyounoussi; Redmond, Armstrong, Djenepo


SM words green background

We say: Manchester City 3-1 Southampton

Southampton have proved a tough nut to crack in recent weeks and were particularly impressive in the second half of their clash with Man United on August 22. Man City are so strong at the moment, though, and we are expecting Guardiola's team to score three more goals in another comfortable home success.



Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 2.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Over 2.5:data



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Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Manchester City win with a probability of 70.55%. A draw had a probability of 17% and a win for Southampton had a probability of 12.5%.

The most likely scoreline for a Manchester City win was 2-0 with a probability of 10.19%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.52%) and 1-0 (8.34%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (7.79%), while for a Southampton win it was 1-2 (3.64%). The actual scoreline of 0-0 was predicted with a 3.4% likelihood.


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Game History

How you voted: Man City vs Southampton

Manchester City
85.5%
Draw
9.3%
Southampton
5.3%
227
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Spain's Ferran Torres celebrates scoring their second goal against Kosovo on September 8, 2021
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Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool108111961325
2Manchester CityMan City1072121111023
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest10541147719
4Chelsea105322012818
5Arsenal105321711618
6Aston Villa105321715218
7Tottenham HotspurSpurs1051422111116
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton104421714316
9Fulham104331413115
10Bournemouth104331312115
11Newcastle UnitedNewcastle104331010015
12Brentford104151920-113
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd10334912-312
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham103251319-611
15Leicester CityLeicester102441418-410
16Everton102351017-79
17Crystal Palace10145813-57
18Ipswich TownIpswich100551021-115
19Southampton10118719-124
20Wolverhampton WanderersWolves100371427-133


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