Champions with the next landslide win?
The champions from Manchester welcome the South Coast side from Southampton. The visitors have lost their last three league games and are slipping down the table. At the moment, coach Ralph Hasenhüttl’s team can only manage 16th place in the table.
The home side are the only unbeaten team in the league and are just one point behind leaders Arsenal.
For the match between Manchester City and Southampton at the Etihad Stadium, betting on a home win with at least a three-goal difference seems to be profitable.
Manchester City – Statistics & current form
The reigning champions scored a spectacular 6-3 win over United in the Manchester derby last Sunday. Once again Erling Haaland was unstoppable with three goals.
The Norwegian has now scored 14 goals in his eight appearances and has always managed a hat-trick in the past three home games.
What’s more, he needs an average of just 48 minutes to score in the PL – no player with more than one goal has ever beaten that figure in the English top flight!
What’s more, the ex-Borussian has already fired 33 shots on goal this season – once again the highest figure ahead of Fulham’s Aleksander Mitrovic (31) and Arsenal’s Gabriel Jesus (28).
KDB is also playing up a storm
Kevin de Bruyne is also performing congenially. The midfield strategist has consistently delivered two assists in the past two games. The last time David Silva achieved this feat was in August 2019.
Should the Belgian redhead produce two assists again against Southampton, he would be the first player in the Premier League with that sequence! Furthermore, no other player in the PL creates more chances (27) and has more assists (8).
The “Sky Blues” can also rely on the home bonus: They have won their last eight home league games and scored at least three goals in each of them.
With this number, coach Pep Guardiola’s team now has the second-longest such streak in the history of the country’s top division. Only Aston Villa tops it with 13 such home games between December 1930 and September 1931.
The home side’s attack is also currently unstoppable in the Champions League. The home match against Copenhagen last Wednesday, which City won 5-0, was proof of this!
Kevin de Bruyne was even spared in this resounding victory and Haaland was given a short day’s work, as he only played the first half. However, the striker still managed to score a brace against the Danes.
Will the hosts prevail in both halves of the match?
With such impressive attacking numbers, odds on the home side to win both halves of the Manchester City-Southampton clash are also promising.
In addition, bets on a home win, including an interval lead for the Citizens, are also recommended. A course of play that has already been observed in three of Manchester’s four home victories in the league.
Predicted Manchester City line-up:
Ederson – Ake – Akanji – Walker – Cancelo – Silva – Gündogan – De Bruyne – Grealish – Foden – Haaland
Last matches played by Manchester City:
Champions League Grp. G
06/10/2022 – Manchester City 5 – 0 FC Copenhagen
Premier League
02/10/2022 – Manchester City 6 – 3 Manchester United
17/09/2022 – Wolverhampton 0 – 3 Manchester City
Champions League Grp. G
15/09/2022 – Manchester City 2 – 1 Borussia Dortmund
07/09/2022 – FC Sevilla 0 – 4 Manchester City
Southampton – Statistics & current form
The “Saints” do not like to play against reigning champions. So far, they have played the current champions 45 times away from home in the country’s top division and only two of those games have been victorious.
They won 3-1 against Leeds in March 1970 and 3-1 against Chelsea in 2015. Southampton are also currently in a slump of form with four defeats from the past five rounds of matches.
Defence of the visitors with room for improvement
The Saints are the only team in the Premier League who have not yet recorded a single clean sheet.
The away record of the guests is also not encouraging: Only in the guest game at the last but one team in the table, Leicester, a victory was achieved. The other three away games ended in defeats.
This result is all the more disappointing because the defeats were mainly against teams that were also in poor form, such as Wolverhampton or Aston Villa.
Predicted line-up of Southampton:
Bazanu – Larios – Caleta-Car – Bella-Kotchap – Walker-Peters – Armstrong – Ward-Prowse – Aribo – Maitland-Niles – Adams – Mara
Last matches played by Southampton:
Premier League
01/10/2022 – Southampton 1 – 2 Everton
17/09/2022 – Aston Villa 1 – 0 Southampton
03/09/2022 – Wolverhampton 1 – 0 Southampton
31/08/2022 – Southampton 2 – 1 Chelsea FC
27/08/2022 – Southampton 0 – 1 Manchester United
Manchester City – Southampton Direct comparison / H2H record
The last direct encounter took place in the FA Cup last March. City won 4-1 away in the quarter-finals of the competition. In addition, the two encounters in league play last season ended in a draw.
Manchester have also lost just one of their last 12 Premier League games against Southampton (8-3-1).
Manchester City – Southampton Tip
For the clash between Manchester City and Southampton, the tip aims for a home win with more than two goals difference.
The home side have already won three of their four matches at home this season, as they have been particularly strong offensively.
After eight rounds of matches, they have already scored 29 goals. Coach Pep Guardiola’s side have now equalled their own Premier League record, set in 2017/18.
Furthermore, the in-form visitors have been waiting for their next clean sheet for 18 away games in the Premier League.
No other team in the league has a longer defensive drought of this kind, and the number is also a record in the club’s history. In view of these points, another clear home win for the second-placed team in the table is in the offing.
