manchester city tops the Premier League proceedings after garnering some impressive thirty-seven points out of the possible thirty-nine points. The Citizens are five points clear of their closest challenger, Manchester United but Pep Guardiola's men can reinstate their initial eight-point lead with a win over the visiting Southampton. Manchester City had an early scare at the weekend when Nicolas Otamendi converted in his net to give Huddersfield Town a lead at the break, but the Citizens responded in the second period to win the game 2-1 bagging all the points in the process.
Southampton is fresh from the 4-1 thumping that they handed Everton at St. Mary's on Sunday. The Saints had failed to win their three league matches in a row before the success over the Toffees at the weekend. The question that pundits are asking all over the globe is if Southampton could be the first team to end Manchester City's current perfect league run with a win in Wednesday's contest. The Saints are currently placed in the eighth spot in the league standings but could climb to the ninth position with the unexpected win at Etihad Stadium.
Match facts
- In the last eight Premier League meetings featuring the two teams, Manchester City has prevailed on five occasions and lost only once. However, the corresponding match ended in a stalemate of 1-1 last season.
- The first and the only time that Southampton has ever beaten Manchester City in the Premier League at their current stadium was in 2004. The Saints emerged the victors with a 3-1 win at the stadium that was then known as The City of Manchester Stadium.
- Manchester City has matched the feat that Liverpool set in a top-flight league by garnering a staggering thirty-seven points after just thirteen league matches. In 1990, Liverpool also won the same number of points after playing thirteen league games.
- Manchester City has equalized their own record of eleven consecutive Premier League wins in a season. In 2015, the Citizens set a club record of going on eleven wins in a row in the Premier League. Only Chelsea, Arsenal, and Manchester United had done better than Manchester City's winning streak in Premier League history.
- Manchester City has just conceded eight Premier League goals this season. Interestingly, two of those goals have been own goals.
- Sergio Aguero has scored a goal in each of the last eight Premier League matches he has played. Romelu Lukaku had achieved the same feat in 2015 while representing Everton.
- Southampton has only managed one success in the league trip this season. The only glory came at Selhurst Park in a game that the Saints beat Crystal Palace 1-0.
- The Saints haven't won in fourteen matches against the teams that have finished in the top six in the league. Southampton has lost ten matches and secured just four draws in that run.
- The game will see the managers who once played on the same team at the same period. Both Mauricio Pellegrini and Pep Guardiola were in the Barcelona team that won La Liga title in 1998/99.
Team news
The match comes too early for Benjamin Mendy and John Stones who are both still nursing various forms of injuries.
Pep Guardiola could rotate his team to leave out Leroy Sane and Fernaandinho who are each one booking away from suspensions. Pep Guardiola could utilize Gabriel Jesus, Danilo, Mangala, and Bernardo Silva in his starting squad.
Jeremy Pied and Matt Targett are the only players who are missing in the visitors' team due to injuries.
Oriol Romeu is back in the fold after serving a one-match ban in the 4-1 win over Everton while Mario Lemina could feature in the team after recovering from an illness.
Prediction
There's no doubt that Manchester City remains the overwhelming favorite in the contest but don't be surprised if you see the Saints ruffling feathers at Etihad.
The pressure has started building for the Citizens at the top, and they know too well that losing to the Saints will only leave the Red Devils with just two wins from leading the table. Also, Manchester City is under pressure to break their winning streak record.
Manchester City could suffer their first league defeat this season given that their managers know each other well having played at Barcelona at the same time. Further, the expected team rotation that Guardiola is likely to make could destabilize his winning team.
Full-time prediction: Manchester City 1-2 Southampton
