Southampton vs Manchester City (Premier League): Match Preview, Team News, Stats, Head to Head, How to Watch | OneFootball

Manchester City travel to the south coast this Saturday afternoon as they face interim manager Simon Rusk’s already-relegated Southampton side.

Last time out, Pep Guardiola and his players earned a hard-fought three points in a rare Friday night encounter with a recently-impressive Wolverhampton Wanderers outfit, emerging 1-0 victors on the night.

City rode their luck early on in the game as the visitors failed to capitalise on Jean-Ricner Bellegarde overhitting a simple ball across the box to Marshall Munetsi, who failed to latch onto it with the goal gaping.

Four minutes later, Manchester City were rescued by the woodwork as Rayan Ait-Nouri fired against the post and saw his effort on the follow-up cleared off the line by Josko Gvardiol, rescuing the hosts and keeping the deadlock intact.

Wolves would rue those missed opportunities as a searching pull-back from Jérémy Doku found Kevin De Bruyne, who unleashed a clinical finish into the corner past Jose Sa, giving Manchester City the lead and perhaps against the run of play.

For the remainder, it was a very cagey affair with both struggling to create anything of real significance. The closest either side came was when Wolves were denied by the upright yet again as Matheus Cunha struck the frame from outside the area in the 56th minute.

Manchester City remained defensively resolute for what remained in the clash and earned a huge three points in the ongoing race for UEFA Champions League football as a finish in the division’s top-five looks more likely.

City’s opponents on Saturday afternoon come into the game in difficult circumstances, having already been relegated from the English top-flight and only earning one point from their last five games.

In regards to current table standings, the fixture is purely trivial for the Saints, as their place in the 2025/26 Championship has been confirmed. For City, however, this fixture is a must-win to all but secure their place in the UEFA Champions League next season.

Here’s everything you need to know ahead of an intriguing clash on Saturday!

Match Details

Manchester City travel to St Mary’s on Saturday afternoon to take on Southampton, with kick-off scheduled for 15:00 GMT.

Match Officials

The Premier League has confirmed that Tim Robinson will be the man in the middle for Manchester City’s trip to St Mary’s on Saturday afternoon.

Check out the full list of match officials below!

Team News

Manchester City talisman Erling Haaland is back fit and available following an ankle injury sustained back in March and may be used from the start by Pep Guardiola after his appearance on the bench at Wembley Stadium last weekend.

Similarly, Nathan Aké is back fit for Manchester City after his longer-term issue, with the Dutchman returning to training in recent days following surgery on a reoccurring issue of his own. Oscar Bobb is also back in training following a minor hamstring issue.

Unfortunately, John Stones remains sidelined for Pep Guardiola, with the Englishman still struggling with a thigh injury.

Despite returning to training recently, Rodri is also unlikely to feature for the remainder of the campaign, as Manchester City are ensuring to take all the necessary precautions and not rush the Ballon d’Or winner back too quickly.

Head To Head

In the last encounter between these two sides, Manchester City secured a narrow 1-0 win at the Etihad Stadium following an early goal by Erling Haaland in the 5th minute.

Over the years, City have largely had the better of the Saints, winning 35 of the 79 fixtures, drawing 20 and losing the remaining 24.

Statistics

Southampton have won just one of their last 15 Premier League games against Manchester City (D3, L11), a 1-0 home win in July 2020.

Manchester City won the reverse fixture 1-0 against Southampton but have not kept a clean sheet in consecutive league meetings with the Saints since doing so in both meetings of the 2014/15 campaign.

Since the 2004/05 season, Manchester City have lost just three of their 25 Premier League meetings with Southampton (W17, D5), though all three of those defeats have come at St Mary’s.

Manchester City are unbeaten in their last 29 Premier League games against sides starting the day bottom of the table (W24, D5) since a 2-1 loss at West Brom in December 2008. The Blues have won their last 12 in a row by an aggregate score of 44-1.

Southampton have lost 28 Premier League games this season, while defeat here would equal the highest number of losses in a 20-team top-flight campaign (also Sunderland in 2005/06, Derby in 2007/08 and Sheffield United in 2020/21).

How To Watch

For viewers in the United Kingdom this game will not be broadcast due to the 3PM blackout rule; however, coverage will still be regionally available on BBC Radio Manchester.

For viewers in the United States, the action can be streamed live from 10:00 (EST) on multiple platforms, such as NBC Sports US.

You can find the full TV listings for this match here!

City Xtra will have full live coverage available on our X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram channels throughout Wednesday evening, with content also provided on cityxtra.co.uk and YouTube!