Southampton – Manchester City: Analysis, reaction, videos

By Joe Prince-WrightDec 19, 2020, 9:38 AM EST
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Southampton – Manchester City: Nearly one-third of the way through the 2020-21 Premier League season, Saints are fighting away in the top four but a 1-0 win for City pushed them closer to the top four in a tight, tense game.

SOUTHAMPTON – MANCHESTER CITY REPLAY

Our own Joe Prince-Wright is on-site at St Mary’s and below are his live updates and analysis from the South Coast of England, as Saints pushed hard but Man City put in another stodgy defensive display.

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Here is everything you need to know from Southampton – Manchester City.

FULL TIME ANALYSIS AND THOUGHTS

Man City put in a professional display and did just about enough to get the win. Southampton battled hard, lost star striker Danny Ings in the first half to injury, and Ralph Hasenhuttl will be proud of his side. This was a very good tactical battle as Saints can push for the top six, while Man City are edging back into the title race.

Man City move up to fifth and defensively they were superb, with John Stones the standout player at center back once again, and Kevin de Bruyne controlling things and calming down Man City in midfield.

Thanks for joining me at St Mary’s today!

90th minute

Saints leaving themselves wide open and Mahrez twice goes close. A cry of ‘two minutes, come on!’ goes up from the Man City bench. They are hanging on.

83rd minute

Tella almost finds N’Lundulu. Man City holding on late on!

79th minute

Home fans roaring their side on late on. Adams just can’t get over header as Ward-Prowse whips in a great cross. Saints pushing hard.

65th minute

Replays show the handball on Sterling. Hmmm. I’ve seen those given.

60th minute

Couple of big moments as there are calls for a handball against Sterling, but the ball bounced up off his knee and hit his arm. No penalty. Redmond is then played in but falls over as he goes to hit his shot. Redmond has made a big difference since coming on. The home fans are on their feet applauding the effort from their team.

57th minute

Nathan Redmond is on for Moussa Djenepo, as Hasenhuttl mixes things up in attack.

50th minute

Close for Man City, as Ferran Torres whips a shots just wide. Minutes later McCarthy somehow denies another City attack as Silva takes too long. City should be out of sight.

HALF TIME THOUGHTS

Man City have been dangerous on the break and that is how they got their goal through Raheem Sterling, but Southampton have dominated large swathes of the game. Ralph Hasenhuttl will be gutted by losing Danny Ings to a knee injury at the end of the first half. Man City lead 1-0 at the break, but this could go either way with Theo Walcott playing well for the hosts.

42nd minute

Not good news for Southampton as top goalscorer Danny Ings comes off with what looks like a reoccurrence of his left knee injury. Maybe just a precaution, but not good news.

34th minute

CLOSE! Walcott clips in a great cross from the right which just misses Adams as Stones heads wide, and from the corner Vestergaard heads over. Saints piling on the pressure. Home fans getting right behind their team!

33rd minute

Saints have battled back well here, but Man City look really good on the counter. They are cleverly getting past Saints’ high-press.

27th minute

CLOSE! Big moment in the game as Djenepo finds Walcott and Ings heads his cross wide, but is clipped by a high foot from Ruben Dias as he gets his effort away. VAR doesn’t intervene as Saints wanted a penalty kick.

20th minute

CLOSE! Great chance for Saints as Walcott’s shot is pushed away by Ederson, and Romeu’s rebound is blocked. Superb 60-yard cross-field pass from Jannik Vestergaard to set up the chance.

16th minute

GOALLL! That was coming. Raheem Sterling puts Man City 1-0 up after a fine move down the right as Kevin de Bruyne whipped in a lovely cross which Sterling slotted home. Ryan Bertrand ruthlessly exposed by Bernardo Silva and KDB. Quality goal from Man City.

14th minute

CLOSE! Two good chances for Man City as Kevin de Bruyne has a shot deflected wide and then Joao Cancelo’s long-range shot is pushed wide by Alex McCarthy.

10th minute

Saints have got into some good positions but are choosing the wrong option. Djenepo gave the ball away and City launched a counter, and Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl isn’t happy with that.

4th minute

Saints have started well here! Djenepo has a shot which is blocked for a corner, and Saints are pressing high, forcing Man City into plenty of errors on the ball. Home fans are loving this.

Kick off!

We are underway at St Mary’s, as the Saints fans belt out ‘oh when the Saints go marching in!’ It is amazing how much noise just 2,000 fans can make.

Pre-game shenanigans:

Hello from a wet and windy St Mary’s! My goodness, it is good to see and hear 2,000 fans inside St Mary’s for this game. As someone who grew up close to Southampton, it was very emotional driving in and seeing fans walking to the ground, singing and laughing. Saints can go second with a win and that sums up the jovial mood after a great start to the season. But Pep Guardiola’s Man City are looking better at the back and most now kick in to push towards the top four. This should be a great game.

Team news: Southampton – Manchester City (INJURY REPORT)

Southampton make one change from the team which drew at Arsenal, as Moussa Djenepo comes in for Stuart Armstrong.

Manchester City have Sergio Aguero on the bench, while Eric Garcia (fitness) is out and John Stones continues at center back with Aymeric Laporte.

What they’re saying: Southampton – Manchester City

Ralph Hasenhuttl, on Southampton’s strong start: “I didn’t expect that we would be again in the relegation battle this season, but that we are that high, you couldn’t have expected. The threat of the Champions League spots, we can stand this. It’s a different threat. I also haven’t changed my targets. They are not always based on positions in the table, normally, more on the game we want to play. I want to see development, I want to see development every week and where it ends up, I don’t know, to be honest.”

Pep Guardiola, on Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta: “Arsenal doesn’t have a better manager that leads this club — in this year and the next — that is better than him. I don’t have to give publicly my support, because he has it and he knows that he has it. He’s one of the best managers I’ve ever worked with, of course, and seen directly. I’m pretty sure he will turn over and will do it like everyone expects. But sometimes when a club comes from not a good period, sometimes it needs time.”

Odds and ends (full odds provided by our partner, PointsBet)

Southampton (+550) | Manchester City (-223) | Draw (+350)

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Prediction

Against most sides, Southampton are a fantastic possession side (54 percent per game, on average). It’s not only how they create their scoring chances, but it’s how they defend as well, by limiting the opposition’s time on the ball, because that’s when they can be a threat. However, Manchester City (60 percent, on average) will force them out of their comfort zone and turn them into much more of a counter-attacking side. That’s not the worst thing in the world for Southampton, and might suit them quite well with the open-field abilities of Che Adams, Danny Ings, Nathan Redmon and Moussa Djenepo. Southampton 2-3 Manchester City.

How to watch Southampton – Manchester City: stream and start time

Kickoff: 10 am pm ET Saturday
TV: NBCSN
Online: Stream via NBCSports.com