Southampton vs Manchester City preview: Pep Guardiola wants Man City to bounce back

Pep Guardiola wants Manchester City to bounce back from their recent Premier League defeats when they visit Southampton live on Sky Sports on Sunday.

Defeats to Crystal Palace and Leicester mean it is the first time in two years that City have lost back-to-back Premier League games and they have now suffered three defeats in four league matches, following their loss at Chelsea earlier in the month.

But Guardiola remains confident in his team's ability and has backed them to bounce back, saying: "The less important issue is Liverpool, we have to think about Southampton. I don't forget who we are, how good a team we are, how exceptional these lads I have in the locker room are.

"The reality is we have lost three in four games and the last two. If you want to be real contenders you have to win again. If you don't, it will not be possible."

Ralph Hasenhuttl says Southampton will have to produce a "perfect performance" to pile more misery on City.

He said: "It's not normal for Manchester City to lose two times in a row. We expect the most difficult challenge that is possible. If we want to keep something in St Mary's we have to play a perfect performance.

"We have to be patient with what we expect from this team now after the two victories over Arsenal and Huddersfield. It will be a hard and long journey until the end of the season."

Team news

Manchester City could again be without Fernandinho for the trip to Southampton while Fabian Delph is suspended.

Fernandinho has missed City's last two league outings - both defeats - with a thigh problem and will again be assessed, while Delph is beginning a three-match ban for his sending off at Leicester.

David Silva is back in action after coming off the bench on Boxing Day but Benjamin Mendy (knee) and Claudio Bravo (Achilles) are still unavailable.

Mario Lemina is a doubt for Southampton after picking up a stomach problem while Ryan Bertrand (back) is out. Pierre-Emile Hobjerg will return after serving a one-match suspension in Thursday's 2-1 loss to West Ham, while Michael Obafemi remains out of action after picking up a knock in training.

Opta stats

Southampton have won just one of their last 11 Premier League meetings with Manchester City (D2 L8), winning 4-2 in this exact fixture in the 2015-16 campaign.

Manchester City have won their last four Premier League games against Southampton by an aggregate score of 12-2. They have never won five in a row against Saints in the Premier League.

Southampton have never lost five consecutive league games against Manchester City. They also haven't suffered three consecutive home league defeats against the Citizens since April 1994.

Man City have lost three of their last four Premier League games (W1) - as many as they had in their previous 70 in the competition (W55 D12 L3).

Man City have lost their last two Premier League games, despite scoring first in both. Only four sides have ever lost three in a row after scoring the first goal in the competition (Blackburn in April 2007, Sunderland in February 2011, Wolves in April 2012 and Leicester in December 2014).

After a run of six consecutive clean sheets, Man City have conceded in eight of their last nine Premier League games. The Citizens have conceded a goal with their first shot faced in three of their last four league games.

Only once in Man City boss Pep Guardiola's managerial career has he lost three league games in a row, back in May 2015 with Bayern Munich.

Merson's prediction

This is the time to go watch Man City at the moment, as they need to win football matches. If they are not winning this with 10 minutes to go they may as well throw caution to the wind and put six strikers on. Draws are not going to be enough now. Let's be honest, they had enough chances against Leicester. Sooner or later they are going to win and win big. They have to, as Liverpool could get too far ahead.

PAUL PREDICTS: 1-4 (16/1 with Sky Bet)

Southampton 1

Manchester City 3