It is safe to say that Manchester City – Southampton is more intriguing than it should have been as two teams on very different trajectories collide on Wednesday (start time 1pm ET on NBCSN and online via NBCSports.com) at the Etihad Stadium.
STREAM MANCHESTER CITY – SOUTHAMPTON LIVE
Manchester City lost to Manchester United last time out, ending their incredible run of 21 wins on the trot, as Pep Guardiola’s side were caught out on the counter attack. Still, City are 11 points clear at the top of the table and look nailed on to win the Premier League as they need seven wins from their remaining 10 games to make it happen.
That run starts against Southampton, who won at Sheffield United at the weekend and that was their first Premier League victory in over two months. Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side have struggled badly with injuries and poor form, as their early-season upsets seem a long, long time ago. It will be intriguing to see how City respond to losing for the first time since November, and if Saints can cause a shock.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Manchester City – Southampton.
[ MORE: How to watch PL in the USA ]
Team news
Manchester City could start Sergio Aguero after he was left on the bench against Manchester United at the weekend. Pep Guardiola has hinted he could bring him in and he is likely to heavily rotate his side once again. Nathan Ake has been the only player out injured for City, but he is back in training.
Your midweek City line-up! 🙌
XI | Ederson, Walker, Dias, Laporte, Zinchenko, Fernandinho (C), Gündogan, Mahrez, De Bruyne, Bernardo, Foden
SUBS | Steffen, Stones, Sterling, Jesus, Agüero, Rodrigo, Torres, Mendy, Cancelo
⚽️ @HaysWorldwide
🔷 #ManCity | https://t.co/axa0klD5re pic.twitter.com/v4t3O6OP0M— Manchester City (@ManCity) March 10, 2021
Southampton’s injury list has got longer, again, as star striker Danny Ings suffered a muscle injury early in the win at Sheffield United and will be out for a few weeks. He joins Theo Walcott, Will Smallbone, Michael Obafemi and Oriol Romeu on the sidelines.
6️⃣ changes for #SaintsFC tonight 📋
The side to take on #ManCity in the #PL: pic.twitter.com/qoVwgCkSX4
— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) March 10, 2021
What they’re saying
Pep Guardiola on the title race: “When the option is open, everything can happen in football. United can do it, absolutely I agree. We have 10 games left and we have to win six or seven to do it mathematically. There is still a lot of work to do to arrive in the last games in contention to win the Premier League. We are alive in all competitions. It doesn’t matter what happens tomorrow – of course we want to win – but there are still many games.”
Ralph Hasenhuttl praises Manchester City: “We very often speak about injuries we have. They had also Kevin De Bruyne out for a long time and they still were unbelievable, so you see how good they work, how much quality is in there. Quality means not only that they buy players for a lot of money, but I think quality that you create as a manager, and automatisms you create and behaviours with the ball – they are hard to defend, and they added a defense to their game that did not give a lot of chances for the opponent.”
Odds and ends (full odds provided by our partner, PointsBet)
Manchester City are the heavy, heavy favorites at -556. Southampton are massive underdogs at +1400 to win. The draw is +575.
PointsBet is our Official Sports Betting Partner and we may receive compensation if you place a bet on PointsBet for the first time after clicking our links
Prediction
Everything points to a home win, and it will be, but Saints have caused City problems in recent seasons and these games are usually tight. City’s extra quality in attack will make the difference. Manchester City 2-1 Southampton.
How to watch Manchester City – Southampton, stream and start time
Kick off: Wednesday, 1pm ET
TV Channel: NBCSN
Online: Stream via NBCSports.com
