Man City vs Southampton: Premier League preview, team news, stats, prediction, kick-off time

Team news, stats and prediction ahead of Man City vs Southampton in the Premier League on Saturday; kick-off 3pm.

Team news

Champions Manchester City are again without defenders John Stones and Aymeric Laporte for the visit of Southampton in the Premier League.

The pair are both still troubled by the muscular injuries that kept them out of the midweek Champions League clash with RB Leipzig.

Fellow centre-back Nathan Ake, whose father died during the game on Wednesday, is expected to be available. Second-choice goalkeeper Zack Steffen is still out after testing positive for coronavirus.

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Striker Shane Long will be available for Southampton after completing his isolation following a positive Covid-19 test.

Midfielder Will Smallbone is back in full team training after eight months on the sidelines with a serious knee injury but is not expected to be rushed back into match action.

Winger Theo Walcott and midfielder Stuart Armstrong are still sidelined with calf muscle issues.

How to follow

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Follow Man City vs Southampton in our dedicated live match blog. Highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel at 5.15pm.

• Download the Sky Sports Scores App: Apple | Android
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Last time out...

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Jones Knows prediction - PLAY SUPER 6 FOR FREE!

If it looks like a home win, quacks like a home win, then it is probably a home win. You do not need me to tell you that. And odds of 1/9 with Sky Bet certainly back that theory up.

Instead of fumbling around trying to sniff out some betting value in the outright match prices, my eyes are firmly focused on Manchester City players in the various goalscorer markets. A price that jumps out to me is the 25/1 with Sky Bet about Ferran Torres scoring with a header, something he has already done this season in the win over Arsenal. Pep Guardiola has started the Spaniard in all six matches across all competitions this season - clearly he likes the way he leads the line.

Although ripe for improvement in that position, Torres does have the instincts to get in where it hurts and should be thriving in that central role with the amount of quality ammunition coming in from wide areas. This is especially relevant for this encounter as Southampton are notoriously sloppy at defending direct balls into their box. Since Ralph Hasenhuttl took over in 2018, Saints have allowed 84 headed shots on target - the third highest of any Premier League team with 22 of those headers finding the net.

SCORE PREDICTION: 4-0

BETTING ANGLE: Ferran Torres to score a header (25/1 with Sky Bet)

Opta stats

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• Manchester City have won eight of their last nine Premier League meetings with Southampton, the exception being a 1-0 defeat at St Mary's in July 2020.
• After winning three consecutive away league games against Man City between March 2001and April 2004, Southampton have lost nine of their last 10 visits to Etihad (D1). Saints have only failed to score in one of their last 16 away league games against the Citizens, but also haven't kept a clean sheet in any of their last 11.
• Man City have won each of their last three home Premier League games by a 5-0 scoreline - only two top-flight teams have won four consecutive home matches by a 5+ goal margin (Everton in 1931 and Aston Villa in 1899).
• Southampton are winless in their last six Premier League games (D3 L3), drawing each of the last three in a row. The last time Saints had four consecutive draws in the top flight was in March 2002.
• None of Manchester City's last 30 Premier League games has ended in a draw, with the Citizens winning 25 and losing five since a 1-1 draw against West Brom last December. Only once before have they had a longer run without a draw in their league history, going 31 games between October 2018 and August 2019.
• Manchester City have faced just four shots on target in the Premier League this season, with three of those coming in their opening match against Tottenham.

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