When they host Southampton on Saturday, Manchester City could briefly top the English Premier League table.
Manchester City vs. Southampton
The Citizens are second, one point behind leaders Arsenal, who play Liverpool on Sunday. The Saints are 16th, one point above the relegation zone.
Man City won 5-0 against Copenhagen in the Champions League on Wednesday to extend their winning streak to five matches.
Erling Braut Haaland scored after 7 minutes and again after 30 minutes to give him 19 goals in 11 games.
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Riyad Mahrez, Julian Alvarez, and an own goal helped City win easily.
Next week’s match against Copenhagen will determine if they advance.
Pep Guardiola’s side is the only unbeaten team in the Premier League after eight games. They play on Saturday. The Citizens are in good spirits, but they’ll be wary of Southampton’s threat.
City dropped points in both top-flight matches against the Saints last season, drawing 0-0 at home in September and 1-1 away in January. In March, City beat Southampton 4-1 in the FA Cup.
READ: English Premier League: Manchester City vs. Southampton – prediction, team news, lineups
Since losing 3-2 to Tottenham Hotspur in February, Guardiola’s men have gone 15 games unbeaten at the Etihad in all competitions, scoring 54 goals. They will be strong favourites to extend this run on Saturday against a struggling Southampton side.
Ralph Hasenhuttl’s Southampton lost 2-1 to Everton last weekend, their third straight and fourth in five matches.
Summer signing Joe Aribo put the Saints ahead four minutes after halftime, but Conor Coady equalized three minutes later and Dwight McNeil scored in the 54th minute. Only Arsenal and Man City had as many shots as Southampton (22) last weekend, but they came away empty-handed.
Hasenhuttl and co want to win quickly to avoid the relegation zone, but their chances on Saturday are slim given their opponent and road form.
Southampton haven’t won at the Etihad since April 2004, when they won 3-1. They’ve only won two of 45 away league games against reigning champions.
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Saints have conceded in each of their last 18 Premier League away matches, their longest run in the division.
Last season’s goalless draw at the Etihad will give Southampton hope, but they’ll need another resilient defensive display to keep Haaland and co quiet.
Manchester City form:
DWWDWW
Southampton’s form:
WLWLLL
Rodri could return to Guardiola’s starting lineup after recovering from a minor injury. The Spaniard was a midweek substitute, but could replace Ilkay Gundogan on Saturday.
Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden could return after being rested in midweek, while Haaland is expected to start as the central striker.
Joao Cancelo will start at right-back in Walker’s absence, while Ruben Dias and Aymeric Laporte will pair Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake at center-back.
Gavin Bazunu, Juan Larios, and Sam Edozie could all play for the Saints this weekend while Lavia watches.
Hasenhuttl is expected to use the same 4-4-2 formation he used against City last season, with Stuart Armstrong and Joe Aribo on the flanks.
Duje Caleta-Car made his Southampton debut last weekend and hopes to replace Mohammed Salisu.
Manchester City’s possible starting lineup:
Ederson; Cancelo, Dias, Ake, Gomez; De Bruyne, Rodri, Bernardo; Foden, Haaland, Grealish
Southampton’s possible starting lineup:
Bazunu; Walker-Peters, Bella-Kotchap, Caleta-Car, Larios; Armstrong, Ward-Prowse, Diallo, Aribo; Mara, Adams