Manchester City will be looking to record their fifth straight win in all competitions when they welcome Southampton to the Etihad Stadium in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.
The Citizens have picked up nine points from their four league fixtures this term to occupy fifth spot in the table, while Southampton sit 14th, having collected three points from their four matches in 2021-22.
Match preview
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Man City's 2021-22 campaign started in a disappointing fashion, as they lost to Leicester City in the Community Shield before suffering a 1-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in their Premier League opener, but Pep Guardiola's side have won their last four matches in all competitions since the clash in North London.
Three of those victories have arrived in the Premier League, scoring 11 times and conceding zero in their domestic fixtures with Norwich City, Arsenal and Leicester, which has seen them rise into fifth position in the table, one point behind leaders Manchester United.
Guardiola's side opened their 2021-22 Champions League group-stage campaign on Wednesday night, meanwhile, and recorded a 6-3 win over RB Leipzig to move to the top of Group A.
Man City have a busy end to the month, as they will take on Wycombe Wanderers in the EFL Cup on September 21 before the small matter of a trip to Chelsea in the Premier League four days later.
The Citizens will then end the month with an away game against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, and it is not as if it gets any easier, with a trip to Anfield to take on Liverpool following at the start of October.
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Southampton, meanwhile, opened their Premier League season with a disappointing 3-1 loss at Everton, but the Saints are unbeaten in all competitions since then, including an 8-0 victory away to Newport County in the EFL Cup towards the end of August.
Ralph Hasenhuttl's side held Man United to a 1-1 draw in the Premier League on August 22 and have also shared the points with Newcastle United and West Ham United in their last two fixtures; a total of three points from four matches has left the team in 14th position in the table.
Southampton will also be in EFL Cup action next week, facing a trip to Sheffield United, before welcoming Wolverhampton Wanderers to St Mary's next weekend.
The Saints recorded a 1-0 victory over Man City in July 2020, but they suffered a 5-2 defeat at the Etihad Stadium in the corresponding match last season and have not actually been victorious away to the Citizens in England's top flight since April 2004.
Hasenhuttl will be aware of the size of the task facing his side, as they travel to a Man City team that has scored 16 times in their three home matches in all competitions at the start of the 2021-22 campaign.
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Team News
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Man City will again be without the services of Zack Steffen this weekend, as the number two goalkeeper is still self-isolating following a positive coronavirus test.
John Stones and Aymeric Laporte both missed out against Leipzig on Wednesday through injury, and the pair will again be absent for this match, so Nathan Ake should feature in central defence once again.
Kevin De Bruyne should again start in midfield, while Ilkay Gundogan could replace Bernardo Silva, but Phil Foden should continue on the bench following a long spell on the sidelines.
Guardiola could decide to bring Gabriel Jesus back into the starting XI, with Riyad Mahrez potentially dropping down to the bench against the Saints.
Southampton boss Hasenhuttl revealed during his press conference that both Stuart Armstrong and Theo Walcott remain unavailable for selection through injury.
William Smallbone is back in full first-team training after eight months on the sidelines, but the midfielder is unlikely to be involved on Saturday.
Shane Long, though, is available after recovering from coronavirus, and the attacker is expected to start on the bench against the Citizens, and he could be joined by Che Adams, with Nathan Redmond and Moussa Djenepo potentially supporting Adam Armstrong in the final third of the field.
Manchester City possible starting lineup:
Ederson; Walker, Ake, Dias, Cancelo; De Bruyne, Rodri, Gundogan; Jesus, Torres, Grealish
Southampton possible starting lineup:
McCarthy; Livramento, Stephens, Salisu, Perraud; Romeu, Ward-Prowse, Elyounoussi; Redmond, Armstrong, Djenepo
We say: Manchester City 3-1 Southampton
Southampton have proved a tough nut to crack in recent weeks and were particularly impressive in the second half of their clash with Man United on August 22. Man City are so strong at the moment, though, and we are expecting Guardiola's team to score three more goals in another comfortable home success.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Manchester City win with a probability of 70.55%. A draw had a probability of 17% and a win for Southampton had a probability of 12.5%.
The most likely scoreline for a Manchester City win was 2-0 with a probability of 10.19%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.52%) and 1-0 (8.34%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (7.79%), while for a Southampton win it was 1-2 (3.64%). The actual scoreline of 0-0 was predicted with a 3.4% likelihood.
