Southampton vs Manchester City

Manchester City will be looking to remain on the upwards curve when they take on mid-table Southampton at St. Mary’s Stadium.

Southampton’s joint-longest unbeaten run of this Premier League campaign (W2, D2) was brought to a halt last time out as they succumbed to a 3-1 away loss to Wolverhampton. Back to St. Mary’s, where they are enjoying a stellar seven-game undefeated streak in the Premier League (W4, D3), the hosts will be looking to avoid defeat in both seasonal meetings with Man City in the competition for the first time since 2002/03. Despite holding them goalless in the reverse fixture back in September (0-0), the ‘Saints’ have now won just one of their last ten top-flight H2Hs (D1, L8), drawing a blank on four of those occasions. Conceding first would undoubtedly dent Southampton’s chances of staging an upset here, given that they’ve failed to win any of their nine Premier League matches when falling behind this term (D3, L6).

On the other hand, Manchester City head into proceedings amid a purple patch, having won their last 12 Premier League games in a row by an aggregate score of 34-7. Having built a comfortable 11-point cushion at the summit, Pep Guardiola’s men seem to be waltzing away with their fifth Premier League title in six years and second on the trot. Delivering action from the get-go, Man City have broken the deadlock in more league matches (17) than any other side this season, going on to win each of them. Indeed, the reigning English champions have conceded a league-low two first-half goals in the Premier League this term, summing up their stubborn displays before half-time in a nutshell. Yet, it’s worth noting that the ‘Cityzens’ have failed to score in two of their last four league H2Hs after finding the net in 16 consecutive such contests beforehand.