Southampton vs Manchester City : Cityzens could likely field this lineup at St Mary’s Stadium

Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City have been outstanding so far on the field as their consistent performances in the Premier League have seen them rise to the top spot. The defending champions are currently holding an 11 point lead over second-placed Liverpool and are looking well on course to retain their title in May.

Moving on, City are now slated to travel to St.Mary’s Stadium as they will be locking horns with Ralph Hasenhuttl’s Southampton. The Saints are sitting 12th in the league table and have been fairly average in their recent outings. Despite the average performances of their opposition, the Sky Blues will not look to take things lightly as their previous meeting at the Etihad ended on a bittersweet note, with both teams having to settle for a goalless draw.

Ahead of the match, City boss Pep Guardiola offered updates on his players and had also talked about the importance of the clash. The Spaniard has ruled out Riyad Mahrez for this away fixture and also had few words about their approach towards the game. He went on to say :

"Just focus on Southampton. What we have done so far, I couldn’t care less. The mood is good, I’m so satisfied with the players. The focus for the last week was Southampton.Source : MEN"

Manchester City XI vs Southampton: Who’s in and Who’s out?

Against the Saints, Ederson will return as the no.1 choice between the sticks. Aymeric Laporte and John Stones are set to be slotted as the main center-backs. Therefore, Ruben Dias will again see himself starting from the bench this Saturday.

In the defensive flanks, Oleksandr Zinchenko will be accommodated in the left-back position whereas Joao Cancelo will be placed in the right-back role.

In the midfield department, Rodri will walk in as the defensive midfielder. The Spaniard is likely to be provided support in the form of two central midfielders-Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva.

On the attacking front, Raheem Sterling will feature as the main striker and will have another opportunity to impress Guardiola with his attacking abilities. Gabriel Jesus will also be one of the main attackers in this lineup and therefore will be positioned as the right-winger. Jack Grealish will find himself being slotted as the left-winger in this City attack.