Manchester City hope to pour even more misery on newly-promoted Southampton this Saturday when the two sides meet at the Etihad Stadium in the Premier League.
The reigning eight-time champions secured a late and controversial victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers last weekend to avoid another slip-up but have looked far from convincing domestically without the likes of Rodri and Kevin De Bruyne.
A 5-0 victory over Sparta Prague in the Champions League midweek should boost morale and they will be looking to inflict a similar scoreline on the winless Saints this weekend. Victory is of paramount importance given Arsenal and Liverpool face one another on Sunday.
Southampton’s search for a Premier League victory has been agonising and a 98th-minute strike from Leicester City’s Jordan Ayew last weekend saw them surrender a two-goal lead in another devastating defeat.
Securing a victory against City on the road will be borderline impossible but their recent trip to Arsenal showed their ability to cause the Premier League’s big dogs a few issues at the very least.
Man City: (4-2-3-1): Ederson; Lewis, Stones, Dias, Gvardiol; Kovacic, Gundogan; Savinho, Silva, Foden; Haaland.