Good afternoon! Thank you very much for joining
Sports Mole for today's Premier League clash between Southampton and
Manchester City!
Incredibly, it is Southampton who come into this match as the form team after a dip in Man City's results which no-one saw coming either side of Christmas, and suddenly this one looks like a much more difficult proposition than it did just a few weeks ago for the champions. It is a must-win game for Pep Guardiola's side considering Liverpool's relentless form, so it will be very interesting to see what happens today.
Let's start with a look at the team news...
SOUTHAMPTON STARTING XI: McCarthy; Ramsay, Stephens, Bednarek, Targett; Ward-Prowse, Hojbjerg, Lemina, Romeu, Elyounoussi; Austin
SOUTHAMPTON SUBS: Gunn, Yoshida, Valery, Redmond, Armstrong, Long, Ings
MAN CITY STARTING XI: Ederson; Danilo, Kompany, Laporte, Zinchenko; Bernardo, Fernandinho, Silva; Sterling, Aguero, Mahrez
MAN CITY SUBS: Muric, Walker, Stones, Sane, Otamendi, Jesus, Foden
What can we make of those two sides, then?
Well, Manchester City fans will rejoice at the sight of Fernandinho on the teamsheet, with their recent dip in form coinciding with his absence from the team. The Brazilian was not expected to be back in time for this one - particularly with Liverpool next up - but he returns from his hamstring injury to start here.
If anyone was in any doubt as to his importance then the last couple of games have really shown it, and it could be argued that Fernandinho is now the one player City cannot afford to lose.
Fernandinho's return is one of five changes made by Guardiola to the team beaten by Leicester last time out, and another notable inclusion is that of
David Silva.
The Spaniard comes back into the side after a hamstring problem, replacing fellow playmaker Kevin De Bruyne, who misses out entirely having only made his first league start of the season on Boxing Day.
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Vincent Kompany also returns to the starting XI today in place of Stones, while Zinchenko comes in for the suspended Delph - who serves the first of a three-match ban following his red card against the Foxes.
Gundogan and Sane are the other two players to drop out of the side for Fernandinho and Riyad Mahrez, with the likes of Walker, Otamendi and Jesus among the players to miss out once again today.
Sergio Aguero once again leads the line for City having scored four goals and created four more in eight league games against Southampton, and he remains only two goals short of his 250th career league goal.
Raheem Sterling was the dangerman when these two sides met in November, though, scoring twice to take his tally up to six goals and four assists in his last 10 league games against the Saints.
Southampton, meanwhile, have left their top scorer out of their side for this match as Danny Ings only earns a place on the bench - despite having scored Southampton's only goal in the reverse fixture at the Etihad.
That was one of seven goals Ings has scored for Southampton in the league this season, but it is Charlie Austin who leads the line for the Saints this afternoon.
Stuart Armstrong is Southampton's next highest scorer with three goals to his name, but he is also left on the bench today - alongside Nathan Redmond, who scored against West Ham last time out.
It is very much a team sheet focused on keeping Man City at bay, then, with Ralph Hasenhuttl selecting what appears to be a 4-5-1 formation this afternoon.
Hasenhuttl has played three at the back in recent weeks, but today he calls upon 18-year-old Kayne Ramsay, who is thrown straight into the deep end with his Premier League debut against the champions.
Jack Stephens and Bednarek will play at centre-back with Target on the right, while in front of them there is a return for Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg after he missed the West Ham defeat through suspension.
In all, Hasenhuttl has made six changes to the team beaten by West Ham on Thursday, with Yoshida, Armstrong, Vestergaard, Valery, Redmond and Ings all dropping out of the starting XI.
Mario Lemina does start having been a doubt due to a stomach issue, and he is joined in a defensive central midfield trio by Hojbjerg and Romeu, who will be trying to stifle City's creativity in the middle of the park.
Interesting selections from both teams, then, and it is a very interesting match today with fourth from bottom hosting third from top, but Southampton being the side to have picked up the most points over the past four games.
The Saints have only won three matches all season - the second-lowest tally in the league behind basement club Huddersfield - but two of those have come in the four games under new boss Hasenhuttl, and one of them against Arsenal too.
There has been definite improvement under the new boss, then, but Southampton remain deep in the relegation mire with only one point and one place separating them from the bottom three - albeit with this game in hand separating them from most of the teams around them.
A victory today would see them climb up to 16th - or 15th in the unlikely event that they win by three goals or more - but they could also end the day with only goal difference keeping them out of the relegation zone should they lose and Burnley beat West Ham.
Today brings to an end what has been a pretty miserable 2018 for Southampton, who have won only six Premier League games throughout the year - Huddersfield are again the only team with fewer from teams to have been ever-present in the top flight during the year.
The concern for the Saints will be that they are four places and four points worse off than they were at the halfway stage of last season too, although the performances under Hasenhuttl will have raised optimism that 2019 can bring more joy to the supporters.
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Hasenhuttl has won two and lost two of his four games in charge so far, and while the defeats suggest that there is plenty more work to be done, he has also masterminded victories over Arsenal and Huddersfield - the first time Southampton have won back-to-back league games since April 2017.
The Saints have also scored seven league goals in four games under their new boss, which is as many as they had managed in their previous 10 outings combined. Improvement is still needed defensively, though, with Southampton failing to keep a clean sheet in any of their last nine league games - a run which stretches back to a goalless draw with Newcastle in October.
Southampton have also thrown away a league-high 15 points from winning positions this season, which is something they simply must address if they are to keep themselves clear of the bottom three.
The latest of those points came on Thursday when they took the lead against West Ham, but found themselves trailing within 10 minutes courtesy of a quickfire brace from Felipe Anderson.
Southampton have only won one home game all season - the joint-lowest tally in the league - but that defeat to West Ham was also their first in front of their own fans since October 7 and they have surprisingly not lost successive home league games since September 2017, 15 months ago.
Southampton's solitary home win of this campaign did come against Arsenal, although only three teams have amassed fewer home points over the course of the season so far.
That victory over Arsenal was their first in their last 30 Premier League games against teams from the current top six - a run which includes 21 defeats.
It was also their only win in 10 matches against teams from the top half of the table so far this season, seven of which have ended in defeat.
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Beating the Gunners should give Southampton some encouragement heading into this match, but their main source of hope may have been provided by other teams over the Christmas period.
Crystal Palace and Leicester have shown that Man City are not invincible, inflicting back-to-back defeats on the champions to leave a huge dent in their hopes of retaining the title just a couple of weeks after being hailed as one of the best teams in the division's history.
Man City had not lost to a team from outside the established top six in league competition since January 2017 - almost two years ago - since those back-to-back defeats, and such is the quality at the top of the Premier League now that another loss today could end their title hopes once and for all.
Liverpool moved 10 points clear of the champions with their rout of Arsenal yesterday, and with the rampant Reds visiting Man City in their first game of 2019, it promises to be a crucial week or so for City's title hopes.
Tottenham's defeat to Wolves yesterday means that Man City only need a draw to reclaim second place today, although they will know that only a win will really do considering the form Liverpool are in right now.
It has been some turnaround from the halfway stage of last season, when Man City were already 13 points clear at the top having remarkably dropped only two points during their opening 19 games. Pep Guardiola's side are 11 points worse off this time around, although their current tally of points would still have been enough to sit top of the table at the same stage of 2017-18.
Man City have never lost three league games in a row under Pep Guardiola - last suffering that fate in March 2016 under Manuel Pellegrini - and Guardiola himself has only lost three league games on the bounce once in his managerial career - in May 2015 with Bayern Munich.
Perhaps the best statistic to illustrate just how drastic a slump this has been for Man City is that they have now lost as many times in their last four league games as they had in their previous 70.
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Man City remain the top scorers in the Premier League, but it is their defensive record which has seen them slip away from Liverpool, conceding more than double the number of goals Jurgen Klopp's side did during the first half of the season.
Indeed, City have now gone nine consecutive games without a clean sheet across all competitions, while in the Premier League alone they have conceded in eight of their last nine outings - that after a run of six clean sheets in a row.
City dropped just seven points on the road throughout their record-breaking 2017-18 campaign, but with only half of this season gone they have already dropped 10 points on their travels.
Guardiola's side come into this match with just one win inside normal time from their last five away outings too, and they could lose back-to-back matches on the road for the first time since October 2016.
There are some interesting statistics which may worry Man City ahead of this game, though, one of which shows that they have failed to win their final Premier League match of a calendar year since 2013, failing to even score in their last three.
Six of Guardiola's 11 Premier League defeats have also now come in the month of December, while they could become only the fifth team in Premier League history to lose three consecutive games after scoring the first goal.
PREDICTION: Right, we're 10 minutes away from kickoff at St Mary's, which means that it is time for a prediction!
The recent form of these two sides makes this one much more difficult to call than it would have been a week or so ago. However, Man City are too good for this run to go on for much longer, so we have to back the visitors to return to winning ways today.
SPORTS MOLE SAYS: Southampton 1-3 Man City
For there to even be a question mark over a Man City win shows how much has changed since the sides last met at the beginning of November, when the champions ran riot in a 6-1 win at the Etihad.
Hoedt scored an own goal to kick things off, and City were 3-0 ahead inside 18 minutes. Ings then pulled one back, but a brace from Sterling restored City's command of the game and Sane added the icing on the cake in stoppage time.
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Man City will also have fond memories of their last visit to St Mary's when Gabriel Jesus scored in the 94th minute to take Man City onto 100 points of the final day of last season - the first team to ever reach that tally in the English top flight.
That was a fourth successive win for City against Southampton - with an aggregate score of 12-2 during that time - and another victory today would hand them five in a row in this fixture for the first time.
Southampton have won just one of their last 11 Premier League meetings with City - a 4-2 triumph here in May 2016 whe Sadio Mane netted a hat-trick - losing eight of those matches.
Another defeat this afternoon would also see them suffer three consecutive home defeats to the Citizens for the first time since April 1994.
Right, the players are out and we're almost ready for kickoff here! A reminder of the team news before we do get started...
SOUTHAMPTON STARTING XI: McCarthy; Ramsay, Stephens, Bednarek, Targett; Ward-Prowse, Hojbjerg, Lemina, Romeu, Elyounoussi; Austin
MAN CITY STARTING XI: Ederson; Danilo, Kompany, Laporte, Zinchenko; Bernardo, Fernandinho, Silva; Sterling, Aguero, Mahrez
KICKOFF: Here we go, then! Man City get us underway at St Mary's!
The visitors have made a promising start to this match, almost getting in behind the Southampton defence on a couple of occasions already. They look up for this one!
CHANCE! Big chance for City to take an early lead, but McCarthy pulls off a fine save! Stephens gets away with one as he tries to be too clever when dealing with a Danilo through-ball, allowing Sterling to win possession back inside the area. He tees up David Silva, but the Spaniard is denied by the Southampton keeper.
Southampton are being made to weather an early storm here, but they have just started to enjoy their first prolonged bit of possession in the last minute or so. They need to settle sooner rather than later.
CHANCE! Chance for Southampton this time as Kompany comes charging out of defence, allowing Elyounoussi to clip a pass over for Austin to run on to. The striker is onside and only has Ederson to beat, but his first touch is poor and takes the ball into the arms of the keeper.
GOAL! SOUTHAMPTON 0-1 MAN CITY (DAVID SILVA)
GOAL! Man City break the deadlock after only 10 minutes, and it is David Silva - back in the team - who opens the scoring.
Mahrez pokes the ball through for Bernardo Silva, who reaches the byline before picking out his namesake David in the middle. From there it is a fairly simple finish for a player of his quality as he slots his effort past the keeper.
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Man City have failed to hang on after scoring the first goal in their past two games, but Southampton are also winless in every game in which they have conceded the first goal this season.
Painful one for Silva as he is clattered by Stephens when going for a bouncing ball, but the goalscorer refuses treatment and is soon back up on his feet - albeit moving a little gingerly.
UPDATE: There has been a goal in the other Premier League game taking place right now, and it is more bad news for Southampton as Burnley have taken the lead against West Ham through Chris Wood.
Here is that David Silva goal which separates the two sides as things stand...
CLOSE! Man City almost double their advantage as they turn a high Southampton press inside their own box into a counter. There are four or five passes inside their own area to start things off, living dangerously by inviting Southampton onto them and then releasing Mahrez. The winger has the pace to carry the ball forward, but he fires wide from the edge of the box.
Crucial defending from Ramsay as he comes across in the box and tackles Aguero just when it looked as though the striker might have a clear shooting chance.
Bernardo has really stepped up amid injury problems for De Bruyne and Silva this season...
CHANCE! A lovely move from City almost produces a brilliant goal, but McCarthy is there to make another big save. Sterling provides the end pass with a low cross into the box and Aguero looks certain to score, but McCarthy keeps it out brilliantly.
Another fine challenge from Ramsay as he slides in to dispossess Sterling on the edge of the area just when the Man City winger was about to pull the trigger.
Southampton are finally able to get out of their own half and put some pressure on the Man City defence. City win the ball back and play it to Ederson, but he needs to pull off a Cruyff turn inside his own six-yard box to escape Ward-Prowse.
Better from the hosts in the last few minutes. They were really struggling to get their foot on the ball before this recent improvement, but now they have forced Aguero back into his own City box to clear the danger.
YELLOW CARD! Aguero goes into the book for a frustrated challenge on Targett.
CHANCE! Brilliant save from Ederson to keep his side ahead! Austin darts to the near post to meet a corner with a glancing header, but Ederson gets down well to make the stop!
UPDATE: Burnley have doubled their lead against West Ham, with Dwight McNeil making it 2-0 against West Ham.
GOAL! SOUTHAMPTON 1-1 MAN CITY (PIERRE-EMILE HOJBJERG)
GOAL! Southampton are rewarded for their recent improvement as Hojbjerg scores a brilliant equaliser!
The hosts win the ball back high up the pitch and Hojbjerg breaks into the box before taking the ball past Kompany and lashing a bullet past a helpless Ederson into the top corner!
Man City have been in complete control for much of this first half, but Southampton have really fought back in the last 10 minute or so and suddenly St Mary's is rocking here. City have been stunned once again!
It is evident that teams are not scared of Man City any more. For a while - and for good reason - they were hesitant to really get after the champions, but recent results have seen the belief of every team grow when facing them.
CHANCE! Half a chance for Aguero as he receives a low pass in the area but scuffs his finish well off target.
PENALTY APPEAL! Southampton think that they should have a penalty as Ward-Prowse collects a floated ball over the top from Stephens. Ward-Prowse takes it in his stride and Zinchenko is the wrong side, sending the Southampton man to ground. On first viewing it looks like a decent shout, but the referee says no and the replay backs him up. I have seen them given, but there wasn't enough in that one for me.
GOAL! SOUTHAMPTON 1-2 MAN CITY (JAMES WARD-PROWSE, OWN GOAL)
GOAL! Oh, how unlucky is this?! Just minutes after seeing a penalty shout turned down, Southampton score a desperately unlucky own goal to fall back behind!
Sterling darts down the left channel before trying to pull the ball back into the area, but it flies off the boot of Ward-Prowse and past McCarthy, who cannot react in time.
There will be three minutes of added time at the end of this first half.
GOAL! SOUTHAMPTON 1-3 MANCHESTER CITY (SERGIO AGUERO)
GOAL! It is a double blow for Southampton at the end of the half as Aguero adds a quickfire second!
It is poor defending as Aguero sneaks in between the two centre-backs to get on the end of Zinchenko's cross, planting a downward header past McCarthy, who perhaps could do better too.
HALF TIME: SOUTHAMPTON 1-3 MAN CITY
An action-packed end to the first half leaves Man City in control of this match at the halfway stage, but it has once again not been all straightforward for the champions.
The visitors were in control for much of the opening 45 minutes and deserved the lead given to them by David Silva, but Southampton then fought back and levelled things up. Two goals right at the end of the half have changed things, though, and it is a long way back for Southampton now.
The opening goal arrived after only 10 minutes when David Silva provided the finishing touch to Bernardo's low cross into the box, and City had the chances to extend their advantage before Southampton fought they way back into the contest.
The Saints finally began to grow into the game around the half-hour mark, and levelled things up with eight minutes to go until half time when Hojbjerg lashed his finish into the top scorer after Zinchenko had been caught in possession inside his own half.
Southampton were then unfortunate to see a penalty appeal turned down, and just moments later they found themselves back behind as Ward-Prowse - the man denied a spot kick - inadvertently steered Sterling's low cross into his own net.
Man City added a third just a couple of minutes later as Zinchenko atoned for his earlier error with a cross for Aguero, who planted his downward header past the keeper.
It is hard to argue with Man City deserving their lead at this stage - as our
match stats show - but Southampton showed enough in that first half to give them some hope if they can score the next goal.
That Aguero header in the final action of the first half may prove to be the killer, though.
KICKOFF: Southampton get us back underway at St Mary's, and they have made a change at the break with Nathan Redmond replacing Lemina.
SAVE! Hojbjerg tries his luck from range, but he doesn't really catch it this time and it is easy for Ederson to collect.
A couple of stats from that late Man City salvo at the end of the first half...
More last-ditch defending from Southampton as Fernandinho dinks the ball over for Sterling, who gets the wrong side of Ramsay before Stephens comes across to hammer the ball behind for a corner.
CHANCE! Half a chance for Man City as Laporte climbs highest to meet a free kick, only to send his header well over the bar.
This time it is Targett who makes a crucial interception inside his own area, nicking the ball off the toes of Aguero when it looked as though the striker would have a good chance.
CHANCE! McCarthy may have done better with both goals at the end of the first half, but he has also kept the score down today. This time Sterling is played in down the left channel and tries to lift his finish over the keeper, who stops it with his head.
Man City have regained control over this game with those two goals at the end of the first half. They are dominating the ball once again now and look far more likely to add to the scoring than Southampton do at the moment.
YELLOW CARD! Austin slides into a poor challenge from behind on Fernandinho and can have no complaints at being shown a yellow card.
SOUTHAMPTON SUB: Another change from the hosts as Yan Valery replaces Romeu.
OFF THE BAR! Man City take the free kick quickly as Aguero collects the ball inside the box, spins and gets his shot away. McCarthy is beaten, but the strike clips the top off the crossbar.
Southampton are hanging on a but at the moment. They are in damage limitation mode right now rather than pushing for a route back into this match.
CHANCE! City once again break in the blink of an eye, with one pass sending Sterling through down the left channel. The winger plays a low ball across goal for Aguero, but his sliding shot is blocked by a defender and goes behind for a corner.
PENALTY APPEAL! This time it is Man City who are denied a penalty as Sterling goes down in the area under the challenge of Valery. It is another close one, and once again I have certainly seen them given!
It is pass after pass from City at the moment. They are just keeping the ball away from Southampton, who are really struggling to offer any attacking threat now.
SOUTHAMPTON SUB: A third and final change for Southampton as Shane Long replaces Austin. No Danny Ings today, then.
Just 20 minutes remaining in this match now and Pep Guardiola will be pleased with how his since have managed this game in the second half. They have been too leaky at the back - and have conceded again today - but this has been better from the champions.
YELLOW CARD! Kompany goes into the book for a diving challenge on Elyounoussi. The Man City skipper knew he might be in trouble, but there was no malice in the challenge despite it being a little reckless.
YELLOW CARD! Bednarek quickly joins Kompany in the book for a cynical tug.
MAN CITY SUB: Change for the visitors here as Aguero is replaced by Gabriel Jesus.
A reminder that, as things stand, Southampton will only be outside the relegation zone on goal difference with Burnley still leading West Ham 2-0.
A Southampton goal would still make things very interesting, but they haven't shown many signs of getting one in this second half so far.
YELLOW CARD! Danilo is the latest player to be booked.
CHANCE! McCarthy makes another save to keep the score down! This time Jesus releases Mahrez through down the right channel, but he puts his finish straight at the keeper.
SAVE! Another decent effort from Hojbjerg as he fires a dipping volley towards goal which Ederson collects with minimum fuss.
Southampton may feel that this is a slight missed opportunity having been on top at one stage in the first half and seen a penalty shout denied, but there cannot be many arguments against Man City winning this game.
MAN CITY SUB: Leroy Sane will get a short cameo here as he replaces Mahrez.
RED CARD! PIERRE-EMILE HOJBJERG (SOUTHAMPTON)
RED CARD! Southampton will end this game with 10 men following a crunching challenge from Hojbjerg, who has only just returned from suspension. It was heavy, a little high and with studs up, so he cannot have too many complaints. Not quite a stone-wall red card, though.
MAN CITY SUB: Fernandinho, who was on the end of that challenge, makes way to be replaced by Kyle Walker.
Man City's thoughts will not turn to Thursday, when they take on Liverpool in a huge match. This win will close the gap to seven points, so it really is all to play for in their first match of 2019.
There will be three minutes of added time at the end of this match.
CHANCE! Half a chance for Southampton late on as Long meets Ward-Prowse's free kick, only to plant his header well off target.
FULL TIME: SOUTHAMPTON 1-3 MANCHESTER CITY
Manchester City return to winning ways in pretty comfortable fashion, then, cruising ot a 3-1 win over Southampton to move back second in the table and seven points behind Liverpool.
There was a scare for the champions at one stage when Hojbjerg cancelled out David Silva's opener, but an own goal from James Ward-Prowse and Sergio Aguero header right at the end of the first half effectively secured the points.
Right, that is all we have time for this afternoon!
Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for today's Premier League clash as Man City return to winning ways at Southampton. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to stick around for reaction too.
From me, though, it is goodbye for now!
