City test title push against high-flying Southampton

Manchester City face another tough trip to St Mary’s in the Premier League on a potentially decisive Sunday afternoon.

Man City didn’t enjoy their first trek down to Southampton in eight years in 2013. Joe Hart’s butterfingers and Gareth Barry’s calamitous own goal contributed to a significant Saints win and – more damagingly for City – United’s victory over Everton the following day hammered another nail in the coffin of their lacklustre title defence.

City will be looking to build on their comeback wins over Bayern Munich in the Champions League and Swansea City in week 12 of the EPL. City need to fight back at Chelsea if they hope to retain their title, but they have tough opposition up next in Southampton.

Southampton manager Ronald Koeman will hope to have midfielder Steven Davis back after he missed the draw against Aston Villa with a hamstring injury.

Saints have no fresh injury problems following Monday’s game.

Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini is likely to be without midfielder David Silva, who has missed his side’s last five games with a knee injury.

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Striker Edin Dzeko and defender Aleksandar Kolarov are both still sidelined with calf problems.

This game looks to be the most intriguing of this weekend’s fare.

It throws up a couple of fascinating questions. Just how good are Southampton? And just how vulnerable are Manchester City?

The first question will become a lot clearer after Sunday and then Saints’ forthcoming games against Arsenal and Manchester United, maybe the Saints might be good enough to stay in contention for the top four through to May.

Koeman commands instant respect for both his playing and managerial CVs. He’s been living under the highest of expectations since first emerging as a player at Groningen and being second in the table won’t faze him, excite him or unnerve him.

But it’s about more than just Koeman and, hopefully for Southampton, about more than just Paul Mitchell – their former scout who has left to join Tottenham.

Not only do they have the knack of producing their own young talents, they’ve also recruited marvellously well (Dusan Tadic, Graziano Pelle, Toby Alderweireld, Ryan Bertrand).

But there’s more than one way to skin a cat, and Manchester City’s way has been very different to Southampton’s. The new Etihad Campus is an eye-watering place and shows that City’s owners are serious about producing their own talent as well as buying other people’s, but up to now it’s been about buying proven talent.

There have been times over the last four seasons when it seemed City were about to leave their domestic rivals in their wake, but for all their success that’s never quite happened.

Currently, City looks weaker than the title winners of last season, just as Roberto Mancini’s second team were weaker than his first. Confident strides some weeks continue to be interspersed with surprising stumbles on others.

The one certainty is that if Sergio Aguero is fit, they have a chance of winning any game.

The Saints rightfully sit second in the standings, and will be a substantial obstacle for City to overcome.

@AnthonyNlebem

Anthony Nlebem