Manchester City vs Southampton Prediction - City cannot afford to drop any points

With the draw against Arsenal, Manchester City threw away a splendid opportunity to go top of the table, but with 2 games still in hand, it is their title to lose. Still, a point against a top 4 team that was only a few weeks ago one of the contenders for the title cannot be bad. But for the next game, which is against Southampton, the team should be fully geared up to take all 3 points. If they drop any more points, you can be sure that both Liverpool and Chelsea will make the most of it.

Southampton are presently in no man’s land, with neither Europe a possibility nor is there any chance that they will be involved in a relegation battle. But of course, they would want to finish as high as possible and their immediate target would be to get as close to Manchester United as they can. With the way United’s season is going, they might even be able to finish above, but that is perhaps a distance too far. However, finishing the season on a high is very important, considering the fact that they would need to build on their achievements and try and get into Europe next year.

While City may have gotten only a draw against Arsenal, it does not, by any means, signal a bad phase for them. Expecting Southampton to be able to defend anywhere close to what Chelsea or Arsenal managed is unreasonable, and one can safely assume that there would be more than enough chances for City to score some goals. And at the Etihad, City have been unstoppable. It would be unthinkable that they would not be able to outscore their opponents at home! So, for the neutrals, this could well turn out to be an entertaining high scoring game.

Injuries

For Manchester City, Micah Richards and Sergio Aguero are on the injury list, but both are expected to return for the Southampton game. However, we’ll need to wait for confirmation to see if they will make it to the squad against Southampton. Aguero might well end up being named on the bench.

Southampton have no injured players that could make a return, with all 4 out for the long term. They will particularly miss Victor Wanyama and Nathaniel Clyne, but they join Steven Davis and Maya Yoshida on the physio table.

Head to Head

Manchester City have played Southampton a total of 74 times, of which they have managed to win only 24. Southampton have a superior win record of 27, but these stats will mean nothing considering that this City is a much different animal than what Southampton would have beaten in the past. 

Form

Manchester City – DWWWW

Southampton – WLWWL

Prediction – Manchester City 3-1 Southampton

Even though Southampton won a rousing 4-0 against Newcastle United, it will be hard to see that happening against a City side that is chasing the title. In fact, the chances are that City would have the most chances and Southampton will have to try and take the ones they get to be in with any chance in the game.