The last match-up on Saturday in the English Premier League Round 33 will be between Southampton FC and Manchester City FC at the St. Mary’s Stadium. Filling your pockets with some money is our business and this game presents some great opportunities for that. Both teams had some extra resting days as there was no league action during the midweek because of the European Competitions play and both of these teams are currently not involved in that. Let’s take a closer look at the analysis that we have prepared for you.
SOUTHAMPTON FC vs. MANCHESTER CITY FC
3-Way: 1: Southampton FC +400; X: +305 Draw; Manchester City FC -119
Spread +0.5: Southampton +114 ; Manchester City FC -120
Total +2.5: Over -145; Under +138
SOUTHAMPTON FC
The Southampton FC is playing with no pressure at the moment. Survival in the league is secured and the spots that lead into the European Competitions next year are also pretty far from the sight. Currently, the team ranks ninth with 40 points in 30 games. They are four points behind West Bromwich but they do have two matches less than the London team. Three points behind them is Watford with one more match played so far. Reason for lesser number of matches for Southampton is the fact that they played in every round of the English League Cup and were defeated in the League Cup Final by Manchester United about a month ago, 3:2.
Southampton’s players are showing some very good performances lately as they have four wins in the last six games. They are 4-1-3 in the last eight games and they are 2-1-1 in the last four home games. Southampton is also undefeated in the last three games including the last two consecutive victories. Home record is 6-4-4 with 17-15 goal difference (37-37 overall) and they rank 15th in the home league table with 22 of 42 possible points earned.
57% of Southampton’s home matches are under 2.5 goals and 71% of their home games are under 3.5 goals in total. Only one home match this season was over 4.5 goals (1:4 loss against Tottenham on December 28th, 2016). Most common results at home are a 1:0 win (occurred three times) and 3:1 win (occurred twice).
Charlie Austin and Nathan Redmond top the team in scoring this season with six goals each while Manolo Gabbiadini has four goals on his account. Most assists on the team has Dusan Tadic with five assists while Ryan Bertrand and James Ward-Prowse collected four each. Defender Oriol Romeu tops the passing segment with 1597 total passes while Nathan Redmond has most shots towards the opponent goal (71). Goalkeeper Fraser Foster started in every league game for the team this year and he has 11 clean sheets games and 56 total saves collected.
Matt Targett (Hamstring Injury), Alex McCarthy (Hamstring Injury) and Virgil van Dijk (Foot) are all major doubts for Saturday game and the date of their return is unspecified. Charlie Austin (Shoulder injury) is expected to be out until at least April 25 while Manolo Gabbiadini (Groin Strain), Sofiane Boufal (Muscle injury) and Steven Davis (Ankle Injury) are listed as slight doubts for this week.
MANCHESTER CITY FC
The Manchester City FC finally ended the four-game drought last week with a 3:1 win over the Hull City at Etihad. Team’s prime goal at the moment is securing one of the top four spots in the league table that will bring Champions League football to the blue side of the City of Manchester next year.
Currently they rank fourth with 61 points in 31 games as they are two points behind Liverpool with one less game played, and four points in front of Manchester United with one more game played. Battle for Champions League in England will be very interesting this year with four teams looking to snatch two remaining spots (Chelsea and Tottenham with 75 and 68 points look like they will stay there after the final round).
The Manchester City FC are 4-3-1 in the last eight games and they are 2-1-1 in the last four road games including two last games without a win (2:2 draw at Arsenal and 1:2 loss at Stamford Bridge). City’s road record is 10-1-5 (they’ve won 62% of their away matches) with 33-20 goal difference (60-35 overall) and they’ve scored in 81% of their road games.
They rank second in the road league table with 31 of 48 possible points earned. 75% of Manchester’s away matches are over 2.5 goals and 44% of their road games are over 3.5 goals in total. Most common result on the road is a 2:1 win (occurred three times) and they have managed to score at least one goal in each of their last five away matches.
Striker Sergio Aguero tops the team in scoring this season with 16 goals while Raheem Sterling and Nolito have six and four in their accounts. The Argentinean national also has most shots in the team (108) while best assister is Kevin de Bruyne with 11 (first in the league). Sterling and David Silva collected seven and six assists so far. Silva tops the team in passing segment with 1759 total passes while Aleksandar Kolarov has 1691. Willy Caballero (11 appearances, four clean sheets) and Claudio Bravo (20 appearances and four clean sheets) split the time as starting goalkeepers this year and they’ve managed to collect 50 saves combined.
Ilkay Gundogan (ACL Knee Injury) is out for the season with expected return at the beginning of the next season. Gabriel Jesus (Metatarsal Fracture) is expected to be out until at least April 30, while Bacary Sagna (Groin Strain) should be available to coach Guardiola after April 23.
The Manchester City Blues are fully aware that every game before the end of the season will be extremely important in the battle for the Champions League spots while Southampton is under no pressure except usual good performance expectations by the fans, especially at home.
The last three encounters between these two teams in the league went with one win by both teams and a draw while both teams scored at least one goal in all three match-ups. The most recent game that took place in Manchester on October 23rd, last year was a 1:1 draw and the latest meeting at St. Mary’s Stadium went Southampton’s way, 4:2 on May 1, 2016. My prediction here is a win by the visiting team with over 2.5 goals in total.
MY PICK: Manchester City to win (-119)
Additional Pick: Over 2.5 goals (-145)
