English Premier League Big Match Preview: Manchester City vs. Southampton

Etihad Stadium
3pm
Sunday, May 24^th 2015
TV: Highlights BBC 1 Match of the Day

The Teams

Manchester City (Possible 4-2-3-1) Joe Hart, Pablo Zabaletta, Martin Demichelis, Vincent Kompany, Aleksandar Kolarov; Yaya Toure, Fernandinho; James Milner, Frank Lampard, David Silva; Sergio Aguero.

Out: Samir Nasri (groin).

Southampton (Possible 4-2-3-1) Paulo Gazzaniga, Nathaniel Clyne, Jose Fonte, Toby Alderweireld, Ryan Bertrand; Morgan Schneiderin, Victor Wanyama; Shane Long, James Ward-Prouse, Saido Mane; Graziano Pelle.

Out: Dusan Tadic (groin), Fraser Forster (knee), Emmanuel Mayuka (groin).

Team news

Manchester City

Going into the final game of the season Manuel Pellegrini only has one injured player – Samir Nasri who’s absent with a groin strain. Other than that the Chilean boss has a full squad to chose from as they look to finish the season on a high this Sunday at the Etihad.

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Southampton

Southampton on the other hand have more injury concerns than the Blues, and will have to sweat on the availability of their midfield star Morgan Schneiderlin who was out of training this week with a knee injury. One late boost for Saints fans will be the possible return of Jay Rodriguez, who spent the past season out with an ACL knee injury.

Fraser Forster, Dusan Tadic and Emmanuel Mayuka meanwhile will not be seen playing in red and white stripes until next season.

Insight

Arsenal’s 0-0 draw with Sunderland on Wednesday night resulted in Manchester City securing 2^nd place for the season, meaning they go into Sunday’s clash against Southampton with no pressure, and an appealing an intriguing game to follow at the end of the season

Southampton, who could still finish as high as 5^th, go into the game with some incentive to still put on a show, as they so often have this season under the impressive tutelage of Ronald Koeman. Manchester City lead the form table going into the game with 15 points from a possible 18, while the Saints are 13^th in the form table, picking up just seven points from a possible 18. Nevertheless last weekend’s thrashing of Aston Villa will surely mean the Saints go into the game full of confidence.

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Speaking ahead of the game Manuel Pellegrini says he is convinced Wilfried Bony will become “the player we need” despite the striker’s struggles following his move to Manchester City.

“He was very unlucky maybe this year when we bought him because he started by going to the Africa Cup of Nations and he came back with a lot of games in his body,” Pellegrini said.

Key Battles

The key are of interest in Sunday’s clash will likely be the old fashioned meeting of attack against defence, or to be specific, Sergio Aguero facing up Jose Fonte. With Morgan Schneiderlin’s inclusion in the squad – or perhaps just optimal fitness – the onus on Fonte to hold down the fort against the Argentinean maestro will be exponentially increased.

Aguero has had his best season for Manchester City since joining in 2011; scoring 25 Premier League goals to date. Adding his eight assists for the campaign and Aguero directly contributes to a goal in the league every 74 minutes. Such staggeringly good form will no doubt cause Fonte a lot of issues this Sunday, but he’s well up to the task.

Throughout the current campaign Fonte has averaged 2.1 tackles and 3.2 interceptions per game, while also managing 0.6 blocks and 5.5 clearances per game too. Being dribbled passed only 0.4 times per game Aguero won’t have it easy this Sunday against the experienced Portuguese defender, but the battle on show will likely be the key area of deciding whether Man City win the game, or not.

Prediction: Manchester City 3-1 Southampton

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