Southampton vs Manchester City prediction: ENGLAND: Premier League betting tips on match 2023-04-07 16:30.
One of Southampton’s glaring weaknesses was exposed again last round as they conceded their 12th Premier League (PL) set-piece goal of the season to lose 1-0 to fellow strugglers West Ham. Even though others above them lost in midweek matches, their position at the bottom of the table is looking increasingly ominous after winning none of their last four league fixtures (D2, L2).
That’s a long way from being ideal preparation for taking on reigning PL champions Manchester City, but they did win the last meeting here in January when they were 2-0 victors in the League Cup. Perhaps a crumb of comfort can be extracted from their mixed home PL record of late (W1, D1, L1), which coincidentally matches their recent H2H record at St Mary’s in the PL.
Man City have now chalked up seven consecutive wins following a 4-1 victory over Liverpool on Saturday which saw them net 4+ goals for the third straight match and led manager Pep Guardiola to declare it “almost the perfect performance”. They need more of that if they’re to close the eight-point gap to Arsenal at the top of the table so expect no let up here, especially if Erling Haaland is fit to return.
That’s a daunting prospect for any side, particularly as his goals have helped the Cityzens go four PL away games without defeat (W3, D1), all fixtures which featured scoring after the 75th minute. Despite that, City have scored only twice on the road themselves during that period in the league this term, so they may be keen to get as much business as possible done early.
Players to watch: Theo Walcott scored and assisted in Southampton’s last home game and has registered five career goals against Man City, four of which came before half-time. City’s Jack Grealish was widely praised for his performance against Liverpool, which included his third consecutive league strike after the 55th minute.
Hot streak: Southampton have won none of the last seven home league games in which they conceded the first goal (D2, L5).