Manchester City will entertain Southampton at the Etihad Stadium once again this weekend after securing a 3-1 win over the Saints in the EFL Cup on Wednesday night. The Citizens are trailing the Premier League leaders, Liverpool by six points so they will be desperate to close the gap at the top of the league table.
Pep Guardiola will stick with his favoured 4-3-3 formation and will bring back most of his first-team starters for this clash at home versus the side from the south coast of England.
4-3-3 Manchester City Predicted Lineup To Face Southampton
Defence
Ederson will return to the Man City starting XI after being rested in their midweek win over Southampton in the EFL Cup. Guardiola will be forced to play Fernandinho as a centre-back once again alongside John Stones as the duo looks to secure a clean sheet at the back.
Benjamin Mendy might get a chance to impress at left-back while Joao Cancelo returns to play in the right-back position. Both full-backs will focus on pushing high up the pitch so that they can do some damage in the final third.
The Citizens defenders have conceded just two goals in their last four outings on all fronts while keeping two clean sheets in the process. Guardiola would hope that their excellent defensive form continues when the Saints visit the Etihad this weekend.
Midfield
The Man City midfield will be comprised of David Silva, Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin De Bruyne as the creative trio look to dictate play and establish the home team’s dominance at the middle of the park. Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden will have to be content with a place on the bench but might get a chance to make an impact if Guardiola calls upon their services.
Attack
The Citizens could lineup with a front three of Raheem Sterling, Sergio Aguero and Riyad Mahrez as the talented trio tries to interchange play amongst each other to wreak havoc in the final third. Aguero scored a brace against the Saints in midweek so he will be confident about replicating a similar kind of match-winning display at the Etihad this weekend.
