The first Premier League match scheduled for this Sunday is the clash between the current table leaders Manchester City and struggling Southampton. Obviously, the Citizens are huge favorites here, but the bookies know that as well, which is why they’re giving way too unattractive odds for the home win. This is why we’re now going to focus on a little bit different Manchester City vs Southampton prediction, with some betting tips that are supposed to bring you big money this weekend. So, let’s start!
Manchester City
Manchester City are without a defeat in the Premier League since April when they lost the city derby to United. And that’s actually their only home defeat since 2016. They’re the strongest team in the league and the number 1 favorite for winning the trophy once again. But, apart from the Premier League title, they have a few more plans for this season.
Manchester City have set their eyes on the Champions League trophy and although they started their campaign with a defeat against Lyon, they’re now at the top of the group table. But, in order to remain on the top, they will need to keep on playing well. This means that beating Shakhtar Donetsk next week is a must.
The problem is that the Citizens have several players injured. Okay, they’re not their key men, but nevertheless, it’s always nice to have a long bench. This way, their first-team players have to work harder, without any rest in every single match.
But, this also means that Pep Guardiola will have to pick his strongest team to face Southampton, even though Soton not seem capable to stand up to even to their B-team.
Southampton
Southampton are among the biggest favorites for regelation. They haven’t been too bad so far, but are still very close to the bottom. And they may drop even lower before the New Year as they’re yet to play teams like Arsenal, Tottenham, and Manchester United before the start of the second half of the season.
And when the transfer window opens, they’ll need to make a few signings as their squad really looks weak right now. They’re struggling a lot in the final third, having scored the last time in mid-September, after which they played 5 Premier League games without scoring a single goal.
The things are even worse knowing that they’ve been very poor defensively as well. They did keep a clean sheet in two previous games, but that’s when they played against AFC Bournemouth and Newcastle, teams that are nowhere near Manchester City in terms of quality.
Team News
Manchester City absentees:
- Eliaquim Mangala (injury)
- Ilkay Gundogan (injury)
- Fabian Delph (injury)
- Danilo (injury)
- Claudio Bravo (injury)
Southampton absentees:
- None
Possible Lineups
Manchester City
Ederson – Laporte, Stones, Walker, Mendy – Fernandinho, David Silva, De Bruyne – Bernardo Silva, Sane, Aguero
Southampton
McCarthy – Hoedt, Stephens, Soares, Bertrand – Lemina, Hojbjerg, Elyounoussi, Redmond – Austin, Ings
Manchester City vs Southampton Match Prediction
Southampton manager Marc Hughes probably realizes that there’s no way his team can keep a clean sheet against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium. So, rather than pulling back and defending with all they got, I reckon Soton will try to hit them back. Will this tactic be successful? I doubt it, but it surely does seem better than letting Man City have the ball in their feet all the time.
Scoring even just one goal against Man City would mean them a lot. Sotom would put an end to the goal drought that’s been going on since September. And it would certainly give them boost for the upcoming matches.
Manchester City vs Southampton Betting Tips
- BTS @2.17 (Unibet)
- Over 3.5 Goals @1.80 (bet365)