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Southampton vs Manchester City news: Citizens target lucky number 13

Manchester City have already got one hand on the Premier League trophy and they will be looking to tighten their grip when they travel to Southampton this weekend.

Pep Guardiola's men have made mincemeat of the title race, having taken an 11-point lead with 16 games still to go.

The Citizens have won 12 straight Premier League games and haven't dropped points since their 2-0 loss to Crystal Palace almost three months ago. They will be looking to make it 13 this weekend.

With that in mind, can we expect Southampton to trouble the defending champions in any way whatsoever? Well actually, yes we can.

Ralph Hasenhuttl's men are coming into this game on the back of a 3-1 defeat to Wolves, but with the exception of that result, their form has been encouraging.
Recent wins over Brentford and West Ham not only helped Saints up to 12th in the standings, but also proved that the south coast side are capable of finding the back of the net.
What's more, City's two previous visits to St Mary's were far from walkovers.

When: Saturday, January 22, 17:30 GMT

Where: St Mary's Stadium

Where to watch: Sky Sports

Follow this game via our score centre

Who is the ref for Southampton vs Man City

Simon Hooper will take charge of Saturday's fixture as he works his eighth game in the Premier League this season.
Both teams will be familiar with Hooper as the 39-year-old officiated City's 3-1 win over Watford last December and also took charge of Southampton's 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace as well as their recent FA Cup win over Swansea.
Season stats 2021/22: Premier League matches (7), yellows (23), reds (0), penalties (0)

Recent form

Unlike most other clubs, both Southampton and Man City enjoyed a good run of results during the festive period.

Saints lost just once in December and twice over the course of their last eight Premier League games.
As well as the improving results, Hasenhuttl will also be relieved to see his side scoring goals. Four against Brentford, three against Swansea, three against West Ham - it's fair to say that Southampton have found their range.
Saints might be in decent form, but their results pale in comparison with City's dominant run over the last three months.
Guardiola's men have lost just one from 16 games in all competitions - a 2-1 defeat to RB Leipzig in the Champions League.
City's last two results in the Premier League have been particularly noteworthy as they beat Arsenal 2-1 at the Emirates before crushing Chelsea's title challenge with a 1-0 win at the Etihad.

Southampton vs Man City players in form

One man who is in particularly devastating form is Belgium's Kevin De Bruyne.

The Man City midfielder produced a man-of-the-match performance against Chelsea as his goal proved crucial in securing all three points against their title rivals.

The player has scored four goals in seven games and has produced two assists on top.
With regards to Southampton, James Ward-Prowse is the man to watch.

The 27-year-old scored a sensational free-kick in the 3-1 defeat to Wolves last weekend - his fourth goal in five Premier League games.

Last three matches

Man City 0-0 Southampton (Premier League - September 18, 2021)
Their last head-to-head encounter might have ended goalless, but it was Southampton who felt like the real winners.
Despite throwing everything, including the kitchen sink, City simply couldn't find a breakthrough on a frustrating afternoon at the Etihad.
Man City 5-2 Southampton (Premier League - March 10, 2021)
There was certainly no hint of frustration in City's comprehensive 5-2 win over Saints last March.
Kevin De Bruyne opened the scoring in the 15th minute before James Ward-Prowse's well converted penalty levelled the score.
With five minutes to go in the opening half, Riyad Mahrez and Ilkay Gundogan found the back of the net to move the hosts 3-1 ahead.

Mahrez scored his second after the break before Che Adams got a goal back for Southampton. Unfortunately for Saints, there was to be no comeback as De Bruyne bagged City's fifth of the game.

Southampton 0-1 Man City (Premier League - December 19, 2020)
City's last visit to St Mary's was far from a walk in the park as Guardiola's men claimed a narrow 1-0 victory.

Southampton put on a classy performance but failed to cancel out Raheem Sterling's 16th-minute strike.

Past ten matches

Southampton wins: 1

Draws: 1

Man City wins: 8

Southampton goals: 8

Man City goals: 23

Managers' thoughts

Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl said: "This is maybe the biggest challenge for us, but the players love this challenge and I think that if I see a team that is so able to be flexible tactically and hopefully will make it very difficult for them."

Man City manager Pep Guardiola said: "We just focus on Southampton. What we have done so far, I couldn't care less. The mood is good, I'm so satisfied with the players."

Predicted Southampton vs Manchester City teams

Man City have no fresh injury concerns ahead of this weekend's game. Oleksandr Zinchenko and Cole Palmer were both absent last weekend and that is expected to be the case against Southampton.

Riyad Mahrez is not expected to be involved, despite Algeria suffering elimination from the Africa Cup of Nations.

With regards to Saints, Theo Walcott and Mohamed Elyounoussi are doubts after testing positive for Covid-19 ahead of last weekend's clash with Wolves.
Valentino Livramento and William Smallbone remain on the sidelines with injuries, while goalkeeper Alex McCarthy remains a doubt. Moussa Djenepo, meanwhile, is on international duty with Mali at AFCON.
Possible Southampton starting line-up: Forster, Bednarek, Lyanco, Salisu, Walker-Peters, Diallo, Romeu, Ward-Prowse, Perraud, Adams, Broja

Possible Man City starting line-up: Ederson, Walker, Dias, Laporte, Cancelo, De Bruyne, Rodri, B Silva, Jesus, Foden, Sterling

Southampton vs Manchester City prediction

Southampton earned a point against Man City earlier in the season, but repeating that feat will take some doing.
Guardiola's men look unstoppable at this moment and we're backing them to pick up another three points in a close game at St Mary's.

READ MORE: How tall is Jurgen Klopp and how does he measure up in a league table of Premier League managers?

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