England Premier League
Saturday 8th October 2022
Kick off at 3pm BST
Venue: Etihad Stadium
Match Preview:
Manchester City will look to roar on when they face Southampton though it is interesting that despite how good they have been this season Arsenal are still keeping Pep Guardiola’s side in check. However with the Gunners playing on Sunday it means City would go top and 2 points clear with victory at the Etihad.
It’s extremely difficult to see anything except a Manchester City victory and the club have won 4 of their last five games and are the only side who are unbeaten so far in the league. The goals are off the scale too and they have 29 of them a staggering 9 more than 2nd ranked Arsenal and only 8 games in. But then it gets scarier when we look at the statistics just at home City are scoring 5 goals per game and in their last 3 games here in all competitions have smashed in 17 goals. They have Erling Haaland too of course who has already scored 14 goals in the league and is now just 9 short of equalling last season’s top goalscorer’s mark and we are only just moving into the second week of October.
In midweek City cruised past Copenhagen with a 5-0 victory in the Champions League and they will easily qualify top of their group and fans will be expecting to see more goals at the weekend. As for Southampton they are in 16th place and have lost 5 of their first 8 games and that includes losing their last 3 in a row. Their last game finished in a 2-1 loss at home to Everton a team they usually do well against and their last away game was a 1-0 loss to Aston Villa. If results don’t go their way there is a chance that the Saints could drop into the bottom three this weekend.
Team News:
Manchester City: John Stones looks set to just miss out with his hamstring but if so should be back next week. Kyle Walker is out with a muscle injury and not due back for at least a month. Kalvin Phillips has a shoulder injury and won’t return until the end of the year.
Southampton: Juan Larios and Adam Armstrong will be assessed because of knocks but could both get a late call up. Romeo Lavia could be assessed but isn’t pencilled in to return until next week, Valentino Livramento misses the rest of the year with a knee injury.
Manchester City vs Southampton Head to Head:
Last season this fixture finished 0-0.
Manchester City have won 10 of the last 13 meetings.
The last time the clubs played each other was in last seasons FA Cup and away from home Manchester City won 4-1.
There is a 70% chance to see both teams to score.
Manchester City vs Southampton Prediction:
The Erling Haaland effect is affecting the price of this game and yes even without the Norwegian forward Manchester City would be huge odds on but they are around 1.08 to win this one and no one will be backing them at that price. As for Haaland one has to wonder if we have already arrived at a time where City win a game and he doesn’t score that some fans will feel something isn’t quite right? Haaland broke a record in the Manchester derby, the clubs last home league game as he scored his 3rd straight hat trick at home, can he make it 4? It seems reasonable that he can. For sure we can’t see this game finishing 0-0 and there have been times where the Saints have been able to frustrate City, and shocks do happen. But who is going to go against City and the goals of Haaland?
This is a very important game for the home side because it could throw in the first psychological moment of the season, knocking Arsenal from 1st place and with the Gunners having to sweat that out over a 24 hour period only to have to play Liverpool on Sunday, certainly no easy game. City will be focusing and thinking ahead and like very much everyone’s else’s opinion we see a home win and plenty of goals.
Manchester City vs Southampton Betting Tips:
Handicap: Manchester City to beat Southampton with a -2 goal start at 1.80
Erling Haaland to score 2+ goals at 2.25
Over 3.5 goals at 1.62
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