Pep Guardiola faces his first serious bout of adversity as head of Manchester City as they host Southampton at the Etihad live at 8:30am E.T. on NBCSN, or live online at NBCSports.com. The hosts will look to buck a streak of four winless matches across all competitions, two in the Premier League and two in the Champions League.
Who does the storied Spaniard turn back to? The man he benched the last two times out, Sergio Aguero. With rumors suddenly swirling that the Argentinian ace isn’t part of the long-term future of the club – rumors which Guardiola shrugged off – Aguero is suddenly the man Guardiola needs the most.
WATCH LIVE: Manchester City vs. Southampton live on NBCSports.com
Also in the lineup is Vincent Kompany, making his first Premier League start since April and just his sixth Premier League start of the calendar year back from yet another injury problem. Kompany’s return will be welcome, as the club is without a clean sheet since September 17th when they blanked Bournemouth.
In the absence of the injured Bacary Sagna and Pablo Zabaleta, Guardiola has selected to play with a back three, but a more attacking variety with no full-backs to track back and support. He could have started Aleksandar Kolarov on the right and Gael Clichy on the left, but instead chooses to include Kolarov as one of the three, and keep Clichy on the bench.
On the other side, Southampton is unbeaten in league play since early September, a run of five matches, but they fell midweek in the Europa League to Inter Milan, failing to score in the process. They lost Shane Long to a hamstring injury in the process, and Charlie Austin remains the starter up front with Jay Rodriguez on the bench to back him up. Ryan Bertrand also misses out with an injury, as 21-year-old Sam McQueen comes in for the first Premier League start of his career.
Southampton have slumped to six straight defeats at the Etihad Stadium, last winning at City in April of 2004.
LINEUPS
Manchester City: Bravo, Stones, Kompany, Kolarov, Fernandinho, Gundogan, Silva, De Bruyne, Sterling, Sane, Aguero.
Subs: Caballero, Fernando, Nolito, Navas, Clichy, Otamendi, Iheanacho.
Southampton: Forster; Martina, Van Dijk, Fonte, McQueen; Clasie, Romeu; Davis, Tadić, Redmond; Austin.
Subs: McCarthy, Yoshida, Rodriguez, Ward-Prowse, Boufal, Hojbjerg, Stephens.
