Southampton look to move into the top half of the table but face a near enough impossible task against the dominant Manchester City

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This weekend, it is Ralph Hasenhüttl’s men who face the unenviable task of trying to take points off league leaders Manchester City.

With the Saints in a good run of form, with only one loss in the last five games, including two impressive wins against Brentford and West Ham, they will look to snatch an unlikely result against the current Premier League champions.

Last time out, however, Southampton were beaten 3-1 lost by a Wolves side who are experiencing an impressive season under Bruno Lage. Saints dominated the ball away at Molineux, with double the amount of shots on target than their hosts and nearly 60% possession.

Of course, possession does not win you a game of football, something the home team will find out against a City side who dominate the ball every game they play in.

The Citizens are in the best form imaginable, winning their last 12 league games and playing a system of football to suffocate any side who dares to play out and attempt to beat the press.

In their last league game, Manchester City defeated title challengers Chelsea 1-0 in a game where the result does not explain the game. The European champions were made to look like a Championship side, unable to get up to the speed that the City players were playing at.

Despite Riyad Mahrez’s Algeria getting knocked out of the African Cup of Nations, the winger will not return for the game on Saturday evening. Nathan Ake was back training this week, however, John Stones and Aymeric Laporte are predicted to start this one as the central defenders.

Moussa Djenepo is still away with Mali at the AFCON, but aside from that, Hasenhüttl has a full-strength side to work with. Oriol Romeu could make his 200th start in the Premier League, should he get the nod over Ibrahima Diallo to join James Word-Prowse in midfield.

After Word-Prowse’s exquisite free-kick goal against Wolves last time out, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola praised the quality the Southampton captain possesses.

“He is the best taker I have ever seen, right now in the world. No player is a better taker than Ward-Prowse. He is so good, maybe we miss a little bit this quality of a football player. A guy who adapts in the same position, he’s a team player, great quality without the ball, with the ball, understanding the game. Set pieces and corners is exceptional. We need to pay more attention.”

Hasenhüttl believes that Saturday’s opponents have the title wrapped up due to the consistent nature of their quality.

“If it wouldn’t be Man City I would say maybe it’s not over but I cannot see them dropping this amount of points with the way they’re playing,” he said ahead of Saturday’s game. You see how tight the Premier League is but they seem to be the only team that has the consistency to win games consistently in the moment.”

In the reverse fixture, Southampton held City to a 0-0 draw, with the Citizens only managing to get one of their 16 shots on target in the entire game. That shot incidentally came in the 90th minute when Phill Foden thought he had won the game, however, the goal was ruled out for offside.

Saints played a 4-4-2 or 4-2-2-2 formation in that game, counter-attacking well at times. However, in recent weeks, Hasenhüttl has preferred a 3-5-2 formation. Will the Saints boss revert to a seemingly winning formula or will he stick with the formation he has currently been using?

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