Manchester City vs Southampton Preview

Fresh from breaking Manchester United’s record of 25 games without defeat in the Champions League, Manchester City will turn their attention to the Premier League where they face struggling Southampton.

The Cityzens continued their rock-solid start to the 2024/25 season in midweek defeating Sparta Prague 5-0 in the Champions League to make it four competitive wins on the bounce. That latest victory came on the back of their dramatic 95th-minute away win at Wolves the weekend prior which made it 31 games without defeat in the Premier League—their longest-ever such run across club history.

Extending that record here looks likely given Southampton’s current slump and City’s form in recent meetings. The Saints have beaten City just once in their last 14 English top-flight H2Hs, with Pep Guardiola’s side winning ten times in that period (D3).

And even if the hosts go behind again here, there will be no panic as they’ve now gained 13 points from losing positions in the Premier League this season, more than any other side and the most of any team in the competition’s history after eight matches.

Meanwhile, Southampton will be looking to do the impossible here, as the Saints have endured a miserable return to the Premier League thus far. Despite leading 2-0 against fellow relegation candidates Leicester City last time out, Martin Russell’s side capitulated to lose 3-2 in the 98th minute.

That result left them winless after their opening eight outings (D1, L7) and also extended their overall winless run in the top flight to 21 games (D5, L16)-their outright longest winless streak in club history. As a result, manager Russell Martin remains under immense pressure, and with only one manager in Premier League history picking up fewer than his one point across their opening eight matches in the competition, another heavy defeat here would place him under even more scrutiny.

Other fixtures taking place this week in the Premier League Fixtures:

Premier League Table