English Premier League Soccer - Southampton vs. Manchester City, 7/5/20 - Preview, Prediction & Odds
A devastating 4-0 victory over newly-crowned champions Liverpool takes 2nd-placed Manchester City to a road contest against 14th-placed Southampton, who have won two of their past three outings. Kick-off - at 14:00 PM ET on Sunday, July 5.
Southampton Win At Watford
Southampton triumphed for the second time in their last three contests (W2 L1) after banking a 3-1 victory against struggling Watford away at Vicarage Road last Sunday. Danny Ings was the star of the show, netting two goals - one in each half - before a Jan Bednarek own-goal gave the hosts hope with 11 minutes remaining, only for James Ward-Prowse to bury a direct free-kick in the 82nd minute of the match, giving the Saints their eighth away victory in the league this season - the most they have ever picked up in a top-flight campaign. Southampton sit 14th in the standings (W12 D4 L16), 13 points above the relegation zone.
English striker Ings leads Southampton with 18 Premier League goals this year and sits 3rd in the league’s scoring chart behind Leicester City’s Jamie Vardy (21 strikes) and Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (19). Goalie Alex McCarthy, meanwhile, sits 15th in the league with 62 saves. He has recorded five clean sheets in 22 games this year and allows a goal every 66 minutes of play. The Saints are 9th in most goals scored during the ongoing campaign (41), 6th in most shots taken per game (13), 11th in ball possession (48.3%), and 2nd from the bottom in passing accuracy (71.9%).
City Thrash New Champions
Deposed Premier League champions Manchester City made sure that a pre-match guard of honor would be the only positive thing Liverpool would receive from them after thrashing the newly-crowned champions 4-0 at Etihad Stadium on Thursday. First-half snipes by Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling, and Phil Foden, with a 66th-minute own-goal courtesy of the visitors, gave the Citizens their ninth victory in the last 11 games in all competitions (W9 L2). The team has won its past four league home fixtures with a combined score of 14-0 and remains 2nd in the EPL standings (W21 D3 L8), eight points ahead of 3rd-placed Leicester City, but with a game in hand.
Injured Sergio Aguero (16 snipes), Sterling (13), De Bruyne (11) and Gabriel Jesus (10) are all on double digits for league markers this season. Brazilian Ederson, meanwhile, occupies the 18th place in Premier League’s goalkeeper chart, having turned away 58 shots during the ongoing campaign. He has picked up 12 clean sheets in 29 games this year and concedes a goal every 97 minutes on average. Manchester City has scored the absolute highest quantity of EPL goals so far this year (81) while registering the highest number of shots per game (18.9). The team is top of the league in both ball possession (61.5%) and passing accuracy (89.0%).
Prediction
Manchester City have made a habit of beating Southampton lately, banking seven consecutive victories in all competitions against the Saints. They have lost just one of their previous 14 encounters with the South Coast club (W11 D2 L1) and are entering their newest meeting on the back of nine wins in their last 11 overall games (W9 L2). The Citizens have come out of the coronavirus quarantine in devastating form, triumphing in four of five matches since the restart of English soccer (W4 L1), posting four clean sheets along the way, outscoring their opponents with a combined count of 15-2. Beating a Southampton side, which has already lost four of its previous five domestic fixtures in the league (W1 L4), being shut out on the very last two occasions, seems just like a formality for the last season’s champions.
Best bet:
Manchester City to win and Over 2.5 goals (-130)