Phil Foden, Aymeric Laporte, Fernandinho, Kyle Walker and Bernardo all return, with Joao Cancelo, Rodrigo, Gabriel Jesus, John Stones and Raheem Sterling making way.
Teams
City: Ederson, Walker, Zinchenko, Laporte, Dias, Fernandinho (c), Gundogan, De Bruyne, Foden, Bernardo, Mahrez
Subs: Steffen, Stones, Sterling, Jesus, Aguero, Rodrigo, Torres, Mendy, Cancelo
Southampton: McCarthy, Stephens, Bednarek, Vestergaard, Bertrand, Salisu, Armstrong, Ward-Prowse, Djenepo, Redmond, Adams.
Subs: Forster, Walker-Peters, Minamino, Tella, Diallo, Ramsay, N’Lundulu, Ferry, Watts.
Formation: 4-3-3
Central defenders Ruben Dias and Laporte will flanked by Oleks Zinchenko and Walker.
Skipper Fernandinho resumes his usual anchor role, with Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin De Bruyne likely to join him in midfield.
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However, with no recognised striker, don’t rule out De Bruyne or Gundogan potentially taking on the ‘false 9’ role.
That said, Foden or Bernardo could also play in that position if needed, while Riyad Mahrez will play on the right flank.
But it’s impossible to second-guess Pep’s blueprint so we may have to wait until kick-off to discover the actual formation.
Zip and energy
City were not at their gold standard best against United.
Though it wasn’t a poor display by any stretch of the imagination, there was a slightly jaded look about some of the play, with an uncharacteristic number of misplaced passes.
Bringing in five fresh faces will certainly help, with the invention and energy Bernardo and Foden infectious.
Plus it will allow some rest for the hardworking quintet who have dropped to the bench.
City look to get back on track
Football can be a strange game but City know a victory against Southampton today is crucial.
Losing to United hurt the players, the boss and the supporters, but three points against the Saints will go a long way to erasing that disappointment.
There is the added carrot of moving 14 points clear again and being one win closer to the title and with United and Leicester not in action before our next game against Fulham on Saturday, six points in the next two games could stretch that to 17 points.
Pep and his players won’t be thinking along those lines just yet as both matches are against good teams with plenty to play for – but it is a possibility, nonetheless.
Stats and facts
- City have won seven of the eight most recent Premier League meetings.
- Southampton have only taken a point from nine away league games at City since winning their first visit to Etihad Stadium in April 2004.Sunday’s defeat against Manchester United ended City’s run of 28 games unbeaten and 21 consecutive victories in all competitions.
- It was also the first time we had fallen behind or conceded more than once in a league match since a 2-0 loss at Spurs in November.
- City haven’t lost consecutive home league fixtures since February 2016 under Manuel Pellegrini.
- Pep Guardiola has never lost back-to-back home league games in his managerial career.
- City have won 13 consecutive Premier League matches played on a Wednesday, the longest such run on that day in the competition’s history.
- Raheem Sterling has been involved in 11 goals in 16 Premier League appearances against Southampton, scoring seven and setting up four.
- Despite earning a first league win in 10 games at Sheffield United on Saturday, Southampton’s tallies in 2021 of seven points, eight goals scored and 25 conceded are the worst in the division.
- Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side have beaten top-of-the-table Everton and Liverpool this season. The last team to beat three different league leaders in a top-flight campaign was Southampton themselves, in 1981-82.
- Saints have dropped a league-high 18 points from winning positions, one more than Brighton.
- They have gone 22 Premier League away fixtures without a win on a Wednesday since beating Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in April 1995.
- James Ward-Prowse has scored seven goals in all competitions this season, his joint-best return for Southampton. Five of those goals came from direct free-kicks.
