Southampton vs Manchester City

St Mary’s Stadium forms the backdrop for a lopsided Premier League clash between rock-bottom Southampton and title-bidding Manchester City.

Another goal conceded from a set-piece play saw Southampton fall to a 1-0 defeat to fellow relegation rivals West Ham United last time out. And though their direct competitors lost their midweek games, the ‘Saints’ remain nailed to the bottom of the standings after winning none of their last four Premier League matches (D2, L2). It’s still not too late for Southampton to steer outside the bottom three, with 15th-placed West Ham only four points away, yet Man City’s trip to the south won’t make things easy for Ruben Selles. His men have managed just one win in their last 13 Premier League encounters against the ‘Citizens’ (D3, L9), going down 4-0 in the reverse fixture. But a shock 2-0 H2H victory in the FA Cup earlier this year might give them the courage to downplay the odds.

On the other hand, Manchester City didn’t need Erling Haaland to pull off a come-from-behind 4-1 home win over Liverpool last weekend and make it four Premier League wins in a row. But Pep Guardiola’s men still trail pacesetters Arsenal by eight points, although with a game in hand, meaning every game is a ‘must-win’ from now on. While the ‘Citizens’ have stitched together seven wins in all competitions in the build-up to this fixture, it’s perhaps even more impressive they’ve won their last three competitive away games by an aggregate score of 8-1. They’ll be confident about adding a fourth to the tally after clocking four wins on their last six top-flight visits to Southampton (D1, L1). April has often been a prolific time of the year for Man City, given that they’ve won their last nine away league matches this month by an aggregate score of 23-4.