Manchester City play Southampton once again after defeating them 3-1 in the League Cup mid-week. The Premier League champions play the Saints, who are 18th in the league and have lost four of their last five games.
City are six points behind leaders Liverpool, who play Aston Villa at Villa Park. The champions have quite a few players out due to injury, but they have a strong squad that should be good enough to see off Southampton once again.
Let’s take a look at the possible Manchester City lineup that manager Pep Guardiola may put out against Southampton.
PREDICTED MANCHESTER CITY LINEUP vs SOUTHAMPTON (4-3-3)
Goalkeeper
Claudio Bravo played the League Cup game against the Saints, but Manchester City No. 1 Ederson will return to goal for the Premier League game.
Defence
Nicolas Otamendi played the entire 90 minutes against Southampton and even scored a goal for City.
But he is likely to make way for John Stones who has been preferred alongside Fernandinho is the last couple of games and is likely to a run of chances now.
Benjamin Mendy should start at left-back as Oleksandr Zinchenko is still out due to injury. Kyle Walker played 65 minutes of the game against Southampton in the League Cup before being replaced by Joao Cancelo. The Portuguese full-back should start at right-back for City.
Midfield
Kevin de Bruyne was an unused substitute for City in the League Cup tie, and he is almost certain to start in midfield. Ilkay Gundogan was not in the squad for the mid-week fixture, and he too should be fresh to start in the Manchester City lineup, as would be David Silva, who was also not used in the game.
The trio started for City against Aston Villa last weekend, with Gundogan and Silva getting on the scoresheet.
Attack
Riyad Mahrez played the entire 90 minutes for City mid-week, but he should start once again, playing from the right for City. Raheem Sterling was not involved in the League Cup game, and he should slot into the side, playing from the left.
Gabriel Jesus and Sergio Aguero both played in midweek and it will be a toss-up between the two for tomorrow but we feel the Argentine might retain his place in the Manchester City lineup.
