Manchester City-Southampton Preview
In an eight-day span, Southampton will truly find out if they are an elite side.
Their three-match gauntlet begins Sunday at home, where they will try to put some space between themselves and reigning champions Manchester City.
The Saints (8-2-2) enter this weekend second in the table but already six points behind front-running Chelsea, and manager Ronald Koeman admitted to some concern about being able to chase down the Blues, noting they have "I think in all the facts of football they have qualities in defending and attacking."
But Southampton's own credentials are now up for scrutiny starting with this match. The Saints then travel to London for a mid-week clash at Arsenal and will face a resurgent Manchester United squad at home on Dec. 8. Additionally, Koeman's side must also try to bounce back from a 1-1 draw at Aston Villa in which a gaffe by goalkeeper Fraser Forster forced the Saints to rally for an equaliser, eventually found by Nathaniel Clyne in the 81st minute.
"We deserved that one because we had a lot of domination in the ball possession," Koeman said. "That's not always the key to win the game but we played more football than they did. ... After the 1-0 down it was more difficult but still we have one point and that's, for the feeling and the confidence, very good."
Southampton have been near-invincible at home, dropping only two points in six matches (5-1-0) and outscoring opponents 17-1 at St Mary's Stadium. Forster has a 294-minute shutout streak in front of the Saints faithful since allowing a marker to Queens Park Rangers' Charlie Austin in the 66th minute of a 2-1 victory Sept. 27.
Manchester City (7-3-2) are two points behind Southampton and can claim second place for their own with a victory. As has been the case seemingly all season, Sergio Aguero again breathed life into City's chances for success at every level, this time scoring goals in the 85th and 91st minutes to rally the Citizens to a 3-2 Champions League win over titleholders Bayern Munich on Tuesday.
"I have always said before tonight that Sergio is one of the best players in the world," manager Manuel Pellegrini told the team's official website. "I can assure you that this kind of victory gives a lot of trust to the whole squad, so it was very important at this moment to do it. We will see what happens in the next round."
The win put Manchester City in third place in Group E, and a win at AS Roma coupled with a loss by CSKA Moscow next month in the group finale would advance them to the knockout round for the second straight year.
Domestically, Aguero has scored 12 goals in as many matches, but he was held off the scoresheet despite taking seven shots in City's 2-1 win over Swansea City on Nov. 22. Stevan Jovetic and Yaya Toure rallied Pellegrini's side after conceding early to the Swans, but Aguero will be keen to add to his success rate on the road, where he has six goals in as many matches.
Aguero scored in last season's corresponding fixture, staking Man City to a lead in the 10th minute before Pablo Osvaldo's goal late in the first half gave Southampton a share of the points. Jovetic capped the scoring in the other fixture last season as City ran out 4-1 winners at the Etihad.
City are 1-2-2 in their last five trips to St Mary's.