Saints Marching
Fansided

Manchester City vs. Southampton: Pre-match talking points

By Chris Hughes

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - MARCH 08: Josep Guardiola, Manager of Manchester City (R) and Mark Hughes, Manager of Stoke City (L) shake hands during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Stoke City at Etihad Stadium on March 8, 2017 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - MARCH 08: Josep Guardiola, Manager of Manchester City (R) and Mark Hughes, Manager of Stoke City (L) shake hands during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Stoke City at Etihad Stadium on March 8, 2017 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 4
Next
BOURNEMOUTH, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 20: Danny Ings of Southampton during the Premier League match between AFC Bournemouth and Southampton FC at Vitality Stadium on October 20, 2018 in Bournemouth, United Kingdom. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
BOURNEMOUTH, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 20: Danny Ings of Southampton during the Premier League match between AFC Bournemouth and Southampton FC at Vitality Stadium on October 20, 2018 in Bournemouth, United Kingdom. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images) /

Goal-scoring woes

For the first time since 2001, Southampton have gone five leagues games without scoring this year, a dismal record. Say what you want about Puel and Pellegrino, we never saw that.

This afternoon the Saints are unlikely to end that streak, with City boasting the tightest defence in the league so far this campaign. They’ve let in just three goals in ten games, having not conceded since the last time Southampton won back at the start of September.

With Unai Emery’s Arsenal winning 11 in a row while Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool have turned plenty of heads, many have overlooked City’s incredible run defensively which leaves the Saints without much chance of snatching victory.

Their best chance will come through Danny Ings but even he is now on a poor run of scoring having gone from one of the league’s most efficient forwards this campaign to having an average-at-best goal/game ratio.