Man City Square
Fansided

Southampton-Manchester City Preview: A Potential Challenge

By J.C. Gonzalez

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 15: Joao Cancelo of Manchester City in action during the Premier League match between Manchester City and West Bromwich Albion at Etihad Stadium on December 15, 2020 in Manchester, England. The match will be played without fans, behind closed doors as a Covid-19 precaution. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 15: Joao Cancelo of Manchester City in action during the Premier League match between Manchester City and West Bromwich Albion at Etihad Stadium on December 15, 2020 in Manchester, England. The match will be played without fans, behind closed doors as a Covid-19 precaution. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Southampton may have not been one of Manchester City’s more difficult fixtures on paper, but the Saints are in fantastic form.

Manchester City perhaps were not expecting a difficult challenge from Southampton when the fixtures first came out, but Ralph Hasenhüttl’s team is third in the table on 24 points from 13 matches and in fantastic form.

City, on the other hand, are fresh off another disappointing result against West Bromwich Albion, and lost major ground toward the top of the Premier League with Liverpool’s win over Tottenham. The Citizens are now eight points adrift of top spot, and even with a game in hand, there is concern as they fall further away.

The team absolutely need to pick up points here if they want to catch Liverpool, who appear to be the clear favorites after beating Spurs. It will be far more difficult than expected, but there is enough talent to get the job done. With so much speculation throughout the week surrounding City’s issues in attack and potential transfer policy, scoring goals this weekend would be a welcome sight.

There will be a major question in central defense, with John Stones set to re-enter the first choice team, while Aymeric Laporte has not played in some time despite being fully fit, and could feature for rotational purposes here. Sergio Agüero’s fitness remains a concern, and his form and health will be the central determinant in whether or not the team’s attack can recover this year.

More from Game Review

Predicted XI: Ederson (GK), Kyle Walker (RB), John Stones (CB), Rúben Dias (CB), Benjamin Mendy (LB), Rodri (CDM), Fernandinho (CDM), Kevin De Bruyne (CAM), Riyad Mahrez (RW), Gabriel Jesus (ST), Raheem Sterling (LW)