EPL: Manchester City vs. Southampton – 3 Things to Watch For
Manchester City return to action in the Premier League this weekend. Winless in four straight in all competitions, City desperately need three points.
It’s been quite a while since Manchester City have won a game hasn’t it? The international break has something to do with the time elapsed, but City are still winless in their last four in all competitions. Two embarrassing losses to Barcelona and Tottenham paired with two very different draws against Celtic and Everton have Man City on their heels.
Winning cures everything though, and while there still exist injury problems and possibly even rifts within the squad, a victory against Southampton on Sunday can alter perception for another week. Some might say City supporters should be happy, the team is joint top of the league and still in good shape to advance through the Champions League. To that, I’d say City’s ambitions have grown beyond that and anything other than three points this weekend should be considered a disaster.
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Southampton come into this matchup struggling as well. A midweek match against Inter doing nothing to bolster their spirits as the Saints were downed 1-0 by the ten men Italian side. Despite being winless in five in all competitions, Southampton still have a myriad of dangerous players at their disposal. Forwards Charlie Austin and Shane Long should always be seen as threats and at the back resides the powerful Virgil van Dijk capable of cutting out any attacking edge. City will need to have their heads in the game, despite the alluring Manchester derby coming up midweek.
City have quite a few choices to make in this one. Reports suggested club captain Vincent Kompany was fit for the Barcelona game, but didn’t make the lineup regardless.
Three hings to watch for this weekend when Southampton visit the Etihad.
- How does Claudio Bravo bounce back?
A return to the Camp Nou the Chilean would like to forget. Nobody likes getting red carded, especially when it effectively sealed the fate of the game against your team. Bravo will have to be quick with his mourning as he’ll be needed this best with Southampton’s forwards. We know Pep will always play from the back, but how does Bravo change, or does anything change, after that bad gaffe on Wednesday.
- Likewise, can Southampton bounce back?
The Saints are struggling and their Thursday night game in the Europa league certainly didn’t help things. A draw against Watford and losses to Manchester United and Arsenal aren’t the worst results, but last season this Southampton team played better under Ronald Koeman. Had this matchup come earlier in the season the odds on a Southampton win would have been astronomical, but after seeing how Everton played, perhaps their old boss did the Saints a favor providing them the blueprint for success against Guardiola.
- Does Sergio Aguero Start?
Going into the Guardiola era, most City supporters said there were two un-droppable players from the City squad, Kevin De Bruyne and Sergio Aguero. Well, that idea died at the Camp Nou Wednesday evening. City talisman Sergio Aguero was benched for tactical reasons against the Catalan giants. This after what many believed was a benching against Everton to save the Argentine for this high-profile midweek game. Since City have scored once in the last two games Sergio has come off the bench, it’d be easy to say the Argentine must start. However, Pep loves to play with as many midfielders as possible, and at times City looked dangerous with Silva, De Bruyne, and Gundogan all in advanced positions. That doesn’t happen with Sergio Aguero on the field. It’s an envious position, but one Guardiola will need to get right on Sunday.
Next: City Injury Update: New injury forces defensive decision
That’s what you should be watching for in this weekends Manchester City vs. Southampton matchup. City really need the there points here and they should get them. Regardless of who Guardiola picks in his starting XI or who he leaves out, City have the class and quality to see this one through. I’m predicting a 2-0 win for City with goals from Raheem Sterling and Nolito.