Manchester City welcome Southampton to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon for the second time in just five days.
Pep Guardiola's side won Tuesday's game 3-1 to secure their place in the EFL Cup quarter-finals and consign the Saints to a fourth defeat in five games in all competitions.
Manchester City
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City's win in midweek was their fourth in a row following the international break - a run that suggests that the club are close to hitting top form as they continue glory on four fronts.
The Citizens are the Premier League's top scorers this season with 32 goals from their opening 10 games, while Saturday's opponents Southampton have the division's worst defence, having conceded 25 goals already.
Those numbers will make pleasant reading for Guardiola's side, who in the form of Raheem Sterling and Sergio Aguero boast two of the division's most deadly finishers.
England international Sterling has starred for City this season, consistently beating defenders with his pace, creating opportunities for his teammates and regularly getting in behind opposition defences.
His speed and direct approach play down the left-hand side has been a thorn in the sides of many teams this season, and that is likely to be the case against a Saints team who have struggled to defend effectively in the wide areas this season.
Kyle Walker is expected to return to the team at right-back and his lung-busting runs will be a source of nightmares for Southampton's beleaguered defensive unit.
City will also have, statistically at least, a distinct advantage in the air against Ralph Hasenhuttl's men, with defender Nicolas Otamendi leading the way for the club in terms of aerial challenges won this season.
Interestingly, the Sky Blues have not lost a home game against a side starting the day in the relegation zone since November 2008.
Recent form: LWWLWW
Recent form (all competitions): WLWWWW
Southampton
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Hasenhuttl's men enter Saturday's game hoping for a response to their record-breaking 9-0 defeat against Leicester City last Friday, a game in which their attempt to mark man-to-man was torn apart by Ryan Bertrand's early dismissal.
The one-man advantage that the Foxes enjoyed was the undoing of the Saints' back three, who have looked far from convincing throughout the season thus far.
In midweek, the Saints did look much more organised, opting for a fully-fledged 5-3-2 that gave them numbers behind the ball at all times.
However, they still lost, a result which extended their winless run in all competitions to five games.
After winning their first ever match at the Etihad back in April 2004, the Saints have failed to register a win in the blue half of Manchester in their nine subsequent visits.
Although their Austrian coach is under severe pressure at the moment with the south coast club down in the bottom three, there are some signs that they could grab something from the game at the weekend.
For example, City had real difficulty breaking down Wolverhampton Wanderers a few weeks ago, eventually being beaten by the pace their opponents possessed on the counter.
That offers a blueprint for the Saints to follow, as although they are without influential and explosive winger Moussa Djenepo, they do have the likes of Danny Ings, Che Adams and Nathan Redmond at their disposal.
Likewise, as Norwich City showed in September, there will be chances to score against a City backline that is far from impenetrable.
Recent form: WLLDLL
Recent form (all competitions): WLLDLL
Team News
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City remain without first-team regulars Leroy Sane, Rodri, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Aymeric Laporte, while reserve left-back Angelino is also likely to miss out after picking up a knock in their EFL Cup win against the Saints.
Guardiola is likely to ring the changes again for this game, restoring the likes of Sterling, Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva to the starting lineup.
One decision the Spaniard will have to make though is in defence between Otamendi, who played so well in midweek, and Fernandinho, who is now back from suspension.
Djenepo and Cedric are the headline names on Southampton's injured list, with Sofiane Boufal and the aforementioned Redmond doubts as they recover from slight niggles.
The club are also without Bertrand, who is serving the second game of his suspension following his dismissal against Leicester last week. In his absence, the Austrian Kevin Danso is likely to start.
Manchester City possible starting lineup:
Ederson; Walker, Otamendi, Stones; Mendy; D. Silva, Gundogan, De Bruyne; B. Silva, Aguero, Sterling
Southampton possible starting lineup:
Gunn; Valery, Stephens, Vestergaard, Bednarek, Danso; Ward-Prowse, Romeu, Hojbjerg; Ings, Redmond
Head To Head
Saturday's fixture is the 92nd competitive meeting between the two clubs, with City currently leading the way on 35 wins compared to Southampton's 31.
The Saints' last win in this game came in May 2016, with the Manchester side winning six of their seven subsequent encounters in all competitions.
Goals have been almost a guarantee in this fixture of late, with only one game this century finishing goalless and 10 ending with four or more scored.
We say: Manchester City 4-0 Southampton
While City have not been perfect this season, it feels as though this game has come at completely the wrong time for Southampton, who do not have the defensive solidity to stop the prolific attack of their opponents.
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