Southampton: Saints Face Uphill March vs. Manchester City

Southampton and Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City both look to rebound after tough losses in Europe this week. Beyond that, they’ve little in common.

Guardiola’s men sit third in the Premier League table, on 19 points with a game in hand and the prospect of going tops again with a result. Southampton, meanwhile, are insulated in 8th position after results further down the table broke in their favour this afternoon. Claude Puel’s side, sitting on 12 points, could jump two positions and potentially displace Everton, depending on a final scoreline.

While Saints fans might relish the opportunity to knock former boss Ronald Koeman down a peg, knocking off the titans at home will take some doing. Last season, the sides split the difference, with each winning their respective home fixture. While Southampton lead the overall tally by the slimmest of margins (31 wins, 29 losses, 24 draws in all competitions), the Saints have not beaten City at home since 2004.

Claude Puel will look to snap that drought and give the Saints a much-needed three points ahead of another looming titan, Chelsea. He’ll have to do it with a depleted squad though, as Shane Long remains out from injuries sustained in this week’s 1-0 loss to Inter Milan. Defensive players Matt Targett, Cédric, and Ryan Bertrand are also listed as doubtful, with Nathan Redmond a game-time decision.

The loss of Long may play havoc on Puel’s rotation system for the front-three; with Charlie Austin working 122 minutes through last week, he’s likely to get a much-needed rest at the Etihad tomorrow.

Sofiane Boufal may see some more play up front, though he didn’t particularly impress in his relief shift at the San Siro and has the look of a player still coming back to full fitness. If Redmond is unable to come back to fitness in time, a possible setup with Rodriguez and Tadic on the wings could provide some interesting options for the Saints in the attacking third.

Manchester City will be without defenders Pablo Zabaleta and Bacary Sagna, while Vincent Kompany is listed as doubtful. City’s leading scorer Sergio Aguero, who took no part in the Citizens’ 4-0 loss to Barcelona, is expected to start tomorrow as is the ever-dangerous Kevin De Bruyne, who has four assists in all competitions so far.

Speaking to the media ahead of tomorrow’s fixture, Southampton manager Claude Puel downplayed the issue of fixture congestion, calling it a good problem for a team to have.

Next: Man City vs. Southampton: EPL Live Stream

“It’s hard to play the Europa League because we didn’t have the same level of the other team but it’s a good challenge for us to play in all these competitions,” Puel said. “I hope we can have this problem for a long time to continue throughout this competition.”

Speaking on tomorrow’s fixture, Puel praised what he called a “quality” Manchester City side but expressed confidence that his players could find a result at the Etihad.

“I saw a very good team with quality, a good collective and good players…I expect a good game from my players with quality to continue this work, but with a different result.”

Puel has faced Pep Guardiola twice, as manager of Lyon during Guardiola’s tenure at Barcelona. Puel’s Lyon drew Barcelona 1-1 in the 2008-09 Champions League round of 16 before going down 5-2 in the replay.

Preston’s Pick: Manchester City 2-1 Southampton