Manchester City will look for nothing less than 3 points when they take on Southampton at the St Mary’s Stadium on the 15th of April, 2017. Pep Guardiola’s men are currently standing at 4th position in the Premier League table and are desperate to strengthen their position by beating the Saints in their own backyard.
Southampton vs Manchester City-
Team News-
Manchester City- The main issue that will be tormenting Pep Guardiola is the selection of goalkeeper. First choice keeper Claudio Bravo is experiencing a rather mixed season, having conceded 26 goals and only 4 clean sheets till date. In their last game against Hull City at the Etihad stadium, which Manchester City won by 3-1, Bravo once again failed to keep a clean sheet.
The injury list of Manchester City includes quite a few key players. Young striker Gabriel Jesus is out with a foot injury. A groin injury continues to keep right back Bacary Sagna out of action, but hopefully, he will be back by the end of the month.
Injured captain Vincent Kompany might miss this match as well after not being risked against Hull City in the team’s last outing. On the other hand, German midfielder Ilkay Gundogaon continues to be out of the team with the long term injury sustained on his right knee’s cruciate ligament.
Southampton- The Saints are looking to continue playing their attractive brand of football, and will be eyeing their third consecutive victory. Claude Puel, the man in charge at the St Mary’s, will be bolstered by the fact that both Manolo Gabbiadini and Steven Davis are fit for selection. However, there is still doubt over the selection of Charlie Austin having an injured shoulder, and also Virgil Van Dijk carrying a foot injury. Among other players, Matt Targett and Alex McCarthy are set to miss the encounter with hamstring injuries.
Claude Puel has termed the experience of playing against Pep Guardiola to be an exciting one, dubbing him as one of the best managers in the world. With exciting prospects like James Ward-Prowse and Nathan Redmond at his disposal, Puel can expect a good result from the forthcoming fixture.
Predicted Line-ups-
Manchester City- Bravo, Navas, Stones, Kolarov, Clichy, Toure Yaya, Delph, Sterling, Silva, Leroy Sane/Sterling, Aguero.
Southampton-Forster, Soares, Stephens, Yoshida, Bertrand, Clasie, Hojbjerg, Ward-Prowse, Tadic, Redmond/Gabbiadini, Long.
Key Players-
Manchester City- Undoubtedly, Guardiola is depending on his main man Sergio Aguero to bring him the glory once more against the Saints. Aguero has scored successively in the last three outings for City and is currently having a goal tally of 16 for this season.
Southampton- The Saints’ chances will be bolstered by the return of Manolo Gabbiadini in the midfield. His ability to strike from long distances in open play as well as free kicks might come in handy for Puel’s boys.
Likely Outcome-
Manchester City will be aware of the fact that if they drop points in any of their forthcoming fixtures, it will become tough for them to cling on to the fourth position with Manchester United catching up fast. Southampton, on the other hand, will be looking to relive their glory against City like they did last season.
