Prediction & odds for the game: Manchester City (2/11) v Southampton (14/1) – ST is backing the home win

When: Wednesday, 10th March @ 6pm K.O

Where: Etihad Stadium

Manchester City will attempt to continue their surge towards the Premier League title when they host Southampton this week.

Manchester City

A few months ago it seemed incredibly unlikely that Manchester City had it in them to go on the sort of run that they’ve been on in recent times. Alas, that’s probably our fault for doubting what this incredible team could do. They’re thriving domestically and they continue to do the same thing in Europe with some fans wondering whether or not this is the year that sees them finally ascend to the top of the mountain as the very best team in world football.

Manchester City’s unbelievable 21-game winning run extended into February with some really nice wins over Everton, Arsenal, West Ham and Wolves, with Pep’s side throwing a Champions League success over Borussia Monchengladbach in there for good measure. However, all of that seemed to briefly come crashing down when they were humbled in a 2-0 derby day defeat to rivals Manchester United.

Southampton

For whatever reason Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men have been dropping like a stone in the last few months, to the point where it was starting to look like they may have dragged into the relegation fight. A few positive results seem to have shelved those plans for the time being, but given how close they were to the top six just a matter of months ago, we do feel like questions need to be asked regarding what exactly has gone wrong – because it can’t just be the injuries.

A win over Wolves in the FA Cup fifth round kept the Saints in the hunt for a piece of silverware, but their defeat to the same side in the PL just a few days later brought them right back down to earth. They proceeded to pick up a nice point against Chelsea but defeats to Leeds and Everton soon helped put them back in their place. Then, over the weekend, they beat Sheffield United to remind themselves what it feels like to win a game of league football.

Conclusion

These two teams are trending in very different directions now and we don’t think their last fixtures are going to change any of that. If anything Manchester United probably just poked the bear, and Pep Guardiola will be furious with that. They’ll have a mission statement in mind that’ll see them go forward with real vigour and tenacity against the Saints who, as we all know, have a tendency to fall apart at the back when things aren’t going their way.

Our official scoreline prediction is going to be 5-0 Manchester City, ensuring we smash the over 2.5 goals boundary.

Verdict: Back the home win at odds of 2/11 and the over 2.5 goals scored at odds of 8/15 (All odds are taken from bet365).

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If you want to bet on Manchester City vs Southampton then head on over to the betting page. Alternatively, you can check out some of the other available fixtures on the soccer predictions page as this season’s Premier League anarchy continues.