Manchester City will welcome Southampton at the Etihad Stadium this Saturday afternoon as they hope to pick up another victory in the Premier League. The Mancunian giants managed to secure a 5-0 win over Copenhagen in midweek and would fancy their chances of earning another convincing win versus the Saints.
Pep Guardiola will once again set his players up in a 4-3-3 formation and is expected to name a strong first team for this game. Both Phil Foden and Kevin De Bruyne will play from the start after being rested in the UEFA Champions League earlier this week.
4-3-3 Manchester City Predicted Lineup To Face Southampton
Defence
Ederson will operate in between the sticks for Man City and will be full of confidence after keeping a clean sheet in midweek. Manuel Akanji could get another chance to establish a solid partnership with Nathan Ake at the centre of Guardiola’s defence as they try to stop Southampton from finding the back of the net during the 90 minutes.
Joao Cancelo would try to put in a productive performance at right-back while Sergio Gomez gets an opportunity to impress on the other flank as the left-back. Guardiola will ask both of them to get forward in support of the front players.
Ruben Dias and Aymeric Laporte will have to settle for a spot on the bench as they provide cover for the centre-half positions.
Midfield
Bernardo Silva, Rodri and Kevin De Bruyne will also try to put in a dominant performance collectively at the centre of the park. Both Silva and De Bruyne will be expected to carry most of the creative workload for Man City in the opposition half.
Ilkay Gundogan will have to be content with a spot on the bench as he waits for his chance to impress in the second half if needed.
Attack
Jack Grealish will once again play as the left-sided wide player while Phil Foden looks to catch the eye from the right following his hattrick versus Manchester United last weekend.
Erling Haaland has been a goal-scoring machine for Man City this season and would lead the line for them once again in the final third. The Norway international has scored five goals in his past two outings, so Guardiola will expect him to make a major difference this weekend.
Julian Alvarez will be available for selection on the bench and might come on to influence the game in the final quarter if Guardiola decides to call upon his services.
