Premier League leaders Manchester City welcome Southampton to the Etihad Stadium tonight as Pep Guardiola’s hosts look to bounce back after their derby defeat by rivals Man United, while their visitors aim to make it back-to-back wins in the division.
City were 2-0 losers at home on Sunday due to a Bruno Fernandes penalty and Luke Shaw strike, as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s second-placed Red Devils reduced the gap to City to 11 points with 10 games left to play while ending Guardiola’s team’s incredible winning run of 21 matches. But City could move a step closer to the title this evening by picking up three points against Southampton, who are down in 14th in the table – seven points off the relegation zone.
Ralph Hasenhuttl’s Saints emerged victorious against bottom-placed Sheffield United at the weekend, with James Ward-Prowse netting from the spot and Che Adams sealing the result as Southampton ended a winless run of nine games in the top flight. The Austrian coach will know that beating the league’s top team will be markedly more difficult than getting past the division’s bottom-dwellers, but there will be no pressure on the Saints with that in mind. Follow live updates of all the action between Manchester City and Southampton tonight below.
