Southampton vs Manchester City. Prediction and Preview. Probable Lineups, Team News, Stats and more

н

Southampton FC will host Manchester City FC in the EFL Cup 1/4 match at St. Mary’s Stadium. The fixture will take place on Thursday, January 12, beginning at 01:30 IST.

Parimatch News will tell you everything you need to know ahead of the upcoming match.

Southampton News & Current Form: 

Southampton unsuccessfully came out of the break for the FIFA World Cup having lost three times in the English Premier League to not the most serious opponents. 

However, their prospects in the other competitions look more positive – for example, they first managed to overcome Lincoln City in the English Football League Cup Round of 16 (2-1) and then beat Crystal Palace FC (1-2) in the FA Cup

And while the venue against modest EFL League One has proved to be an easy walk, the other cup game was tense and full of intrigue. The Saints snatched a trip to the next round of the Football Association Challenge Cup in dramatic fashion, starting with a conceded early goal at Selhurst Park Stadium. A radio-controlled free-kick by James Ward-Prowse helped his teammates get back into the game. Then, midway through the second half, the nimble Adam Armstrong put the game to bed by simply robbing keeper Vicente Guaita of the ball and bowling it into the net.

The team still lacks stability, there are significant problems with creativity and execution and there are also a lot of questions for the defence. The indicators are screaming: 15 goals scored and 33 conceded in 18 games played in the EPL.

The Saints are pretty good up until the conceded goal, but when they are down on the scoreline, the Red and Whites often tend to fall apart and don’t show character. A number of structural and systematic problems have gradually dragged the team into a recession. And first of all, it affects the mental state of the players. Losing match after match makes it very difficult to believe that you are capable of winning, so every match is a real test for the Saints, and any victory is a real triumph on the way to return to the rails of grace. Currently, the team is at the very bottom of the EPL table and their only task for the season is not to drop out of the top flight. Competing in cups is a kind of outlet, a chance to fight for something worthwhile at least.

Southampton were quite good in previous years – the coaching talents of Ralph Hasenhüttl and traditionally strong selection allowed them to be among the EPL mid-tiers. When a year ago a new and quite ambitious owner, Dragan Solak, appeared, it seemed that the club would become a contender in the European competitions. But the start was a failure, which resulted in a fairly logical resignation of Ralph. However, even Nathan Jones, who replaced the Austrian, could not fix the situation. Even in winter, after a long pause, the Welshman’s charges lost to Brighton & Hove Albion FC (1-3) and Fulham FC (1-2), and even to Nottingham Forest FC

The club is not financially able to compete with the grands, so they have to place their faith in either young, undiscovered talents or experienced players who are past their prime.

This is how 20-year-old midfielder of the Argentinian Racing FCCarlos Alcaraz – moved to Southampton.  

It is reported that the amount of the transfer was €13,65m. Racing from Avellaneda will also receive 15% of the future resale amount of the 20-year-old midfielder. In 2022, Alcaraz scored 9 goals and gave 2 assists in 42 games for Racing in all competitions.

In addition to the junior zeal, the club also gained an experienced attacking option. 30-year-old Mislav Orsic from Dinamo Zagreb has joined the club. The Croatian, who has been rocking in Europe in recent years, was bought at a great bargain for €6.80m, almost half the transfer value. 

“I feel very happy to be here. I’m ready, I’m motivated and I hope that I will help the team achieve their goals. When I come here to the camp, it’s amazing and I’m sure I will really enjoy my time here.”

he said on his arrival.

Manchester City News & Current Form: 

As for Manchester City, everything is much more convincing. Yes, the team is not yet the leader of the EPL, but tries to keep up with the audacious Arsenal FC this season and takes seriously all the other tournaments in which they participate. After the pause, the Citizens have started to pick up a good pace and are quite capable of handling such an unconvincing opponent with confidence.

It is unlikely that in this meeting the Blues will be on the field with the full lineup of main performers. Even in the previous League Cup tie with serious Liverpool FC the head coach of Manchester City Josep Guardiola made use of rotation. And that roster played poorly in defense of their own goal, allowing the opponents to score twice in front (3-2 win). In the last few games of the regular competition, City’s defense also misfired, at the hands of the less formidable Everton FC (1-1), Leeds United FC (3-1) and Brentford FC (1-2).

The Citizens got Erling Haaland last summer, signing perhaps the only player they had lacked in previous years since Sergio Agüero began to give up – a true scorer. The Norwegian was scoring even more in the 1st round than predicted, reaching the 20-goal mark in the Premier League alone by the New Year. How was it possible to fall so far behind Arsenal, with all the top form of the unexpected leader? At the same time we can also remember the UEFA Super Cup defeat, with which the season began. However, just in the League Cup, Guardiola’s charges knocked out Chelsea FC and Liverpool in the previous rounds. And in the last games they beat the Aristocrats twice: 1-0 in the EPL and 4-0 in the League Cup.

The club is likely to save the season through the UEFA Champions League. It is clear that to win it has long been an idea-fix. And Guardiola can reasonably expect Haaland, with his performance, to be the deciding factor in the fight for the title. But still, it is very often a misfire in the Premier League, especially against the background of having such a stubborn rival as the current Arsenal.

Chelsea head coach Graham Potter shared a comment after the devastating 0-4 loss to City in the FA Cup.

“Probably the worst opponent to play against when things aren’t going well. They can make it look like your team is not trying well. I don’t feel like the team is treating me badly. I think I have support in the locker room.”

Forward Phil Foden was the author of 1 of the 4 goals. According to analytic agency Opta, Foden is the only player to have scored in each of the last five FA Cup games.

Southampton form guide: L-W-L-L-L-W

Manchester City form guide: W-W-W-D-W-W

Southampton vs Manchester City Head-To-Head Record: 

SouthamptonDrawManchester City
322740
  • December 19, 2020: Southampton 0-1 Manchester City (Premier League);
  • March 10, 2021: Manchester City 5-2 Southampton (Premier League);
  • September 18, 2021: Manchester City 5-2 Southampton (Premier League);
  • January 22, 2022: Southampton 1-1 Manchester City (Premier League);
  • March 20, 2022: Southampton 1-4 Manchester City (FA Cup);
  • October 8, 2022: Manchester City 4-0 Southampton (Premier League).

Southampton vs Manchester City Predicted XI:

Southampton possible starting lineup (4-2-3-1): Bazunu; Lyanco, Caleta-Car, Salisu; Walker-Peters, Ward-Prowse, Lavia, Perraud; Edozie, A. Armstrong; Adams.

Manchester City possible starting lineup (4-2-3-1): Ortega; Lewis, Stones, Akanji, Ake; De Bruyne, Phillips, Gundogan; Mahrez, Alvarez, Grealish.

Statistical preview of the match Southampton vs Manchester City:

  • Manchester City have won in 9 of the last 10 EFL Cup games
  • Manchester City are unbeaten in 10 of their last 12 matches.
  • Manchester City are unbeaten in their last 6 games against Southampton.
  • Manchester City are conceding an average of 0.80 goals per game in their last 5 games.
  • Manchester City are scoring an average of 2.40 goals per game in their last 5 games.
  • Manchester City have managed to score in each of their last 9 games.
  • Southampton conceded an average of 1.60 goals per game in their last 5 games.
  • Southampton are scoring an average of 1.20 goals per game in their last 5 games.
  • Southampton have not won in 7 of the last 8 home games.
  • Southampton have scored and conceded in 7 of the last 8 games.

What has been said before the match:

Coach Pep Guardiola said about the Carabao Cup:

“It’s been good and we’ve won it. I’ve said before that some competitions are more important than the Carabao Cup but we have to try to reach the semi-final, they are so strong but we have to do what we can. This is what we’ve done many times.”

“Away game, better to be at home, they’re in a difficult position with the new manager, we knew with Ralph what a struggle it was. The new manager has changed movements and patterns but we try to impose our game and try to win to reach the semi final.”

Nathan Jones commented on the upcoming match:

“It’s probably the toughest test you can have because they are one of the best in the world. But it is the quarter-finals of a cup so it’s a shoot-out. It is winner-takes-all and we need a strong home performance. Of course, it is a tough task but these are the moments that you want to test yourself against because if it is simple, week in, week out, then there’s no real joy in it and there’s no challenge.”

“I know this job is a challenge and this game (against City) is one of the biggest ones. It is a wonderful opportunity to test ourselves against one of the best teams in the world, not just the Premier League.”

“Every game is huge at the minute, playing Palace away wouldn’t have been our first choice, but it proved to be a really productive game for us – it was like a Premier League match – and we feel we’ve been gathering momentum and hopefully that can give us a springboard.”

“Obviously, no one would choose in a one-game shootout to play Man City and that is just being realistic. But it’s a cup game and we want to try and win. We don’t just want to keep the scoreline down and we don’t just want to have a respectable loss.”

“We want to be aggressive. We want to be front-footed and we want to continue the development of what we’re trying to do here.”

Southampton vs Manchester City Prediction:

In this pairing, everything is crystal clear and no miracle is likely to happen. It’s doubtful that the Saints will be helped by the home-field factor. Completely different calibres and ambitions. Even at their best, Southampton are inferior to the Citizens on paper, although let’s not forget that the opponents are from the most competitive league in the world and even the underdogs should not be underestimated.

The main intrigue of the upcoming meeting is whether the Saints will be able to net. The trend suggests that Nathan Jones’ side have been consistently scoring at home – Southampton have managed to get on the scoreline in 8 of their last 9 games.

In terms of getting away with it, it is unlikely that the home side will be able to contain an onslaught by Manchester City. Guardiola’s side have the highest goalscoring record in the EPL (45) and the quality of their players is staggeringly perfect. Southampton, on the other hand, have the second-highest goals conceded tally (33). It is also worth remembering that Manchester City have scored four goals against Southampton in the last two meetings. We cannot rule out the possibility of at least three goals scored in the upcoming match.

Parimatch News staff prediction:

We say: Both teams to score, Manchester City to win and the match total to be over 2.5 – Yes.

Don`t miss out 👉: Virat Kohli: Thankful, which I made the most of that luck presented to me

Comments

0