03-10-2021, 05:44 PM
Manchester City vs Southampton preview: Fiery City ready to march on
Pep Guardiola says his Manchester City squad have been ‘on fire’ in training after the disappointment of losing to Manchester United.
The surprise 2-0 reverse ended a remarkable run of 21 straight wins across all competitions and marked a first defeat for Guardiola's men since November 2020.
But they will look to put the disappointment of the derby defeat behind them and go 14 points clear of United at the top of the Premier League when Southampton visit the Etihad tonight.
City’s response
While admitting the training ground was sombre in the aftermath of Sunday's loss, Guardiola (pictured above), 50, expects a strong reaction from his troops against the Saints.
He said: "It was a mixture of disappointment and sadness.
"The second day was a bit better and then they were completely on fire to try and play a good game against Southampton.
"It's a normal process when you lose a game — the reaction is common. I think everyone realised how difficult it is to win games, to do good things and go on good runs.
"United are a top side and top club with a good manager and good players, so it can happen.
"With the Premier League, it's so complicated and so difficult. There's still a lot of work to do to arrive in the last games in contention to win the Premier League.
"We are alive in all competitions, one final, and now the important part of the season arrives."
Title race is alive
Guardiola believes United's performance last weekend perfectly illustrates that the title race is still alive, despite his side's huge advantage at the top of the table.
He added: "When the option is open, anything can happen in football.
"Nobody thought we could win 21 games in a row or 15 games in the Premier League, so anything can happen. I absolutely agree. For people like United, they can do it."
Time for Adams to shine
Ralph Hasenhuttl’s Saints come into the clash on the back of a first win in 10 games after seeing off Sheffield United 2-0.
With Danny Ings out until April, the Austrian is hopeful that Che Adams’ strike in that win — his first since December — is the start of a scoring run.
Hasenhuttl said: "He must be, in some moments, more clinical. This is easy to say. A striker always likes to be clinical and make a goal from every chance.
"He had a long run when he didn't score but maybe we have the ketchup bottle phenomenon. So a long time, nothing — then everything comes."
Ings (muscle), Oriol Romeu (ankle) and Theo Walcott (thigh) are all absent for Southampton but City have a fully-fit squad to choose from.
Pep Guardiola says his Manchester City squad have been ‘on fire’ in training after the disappointment of losing to Manchester United.
The surprise 2-0 reverse ended a remarkable run of 21 straight wins across all competitions and marked a first defeat for Guardiola's men since November 2020.
But they will look to put the disappointment of the derby defeat behind them and go 14 points clear of United at the top of the Premier League when Southampton visit the Etihad tonight.
City’s response
While admitting the training ground was sombre in the aftermath of Sunday's loss, Guardiola (pictured above), 50, expects a strong reaction from his troops against the Saints.
He said: "It was a mixture of disappointment and sadness.
"The second day was a bit better and then they were completely on fire to try and play a good game against Southampton.
"It's a normal process when you lose a game — the reaction is common. I think everyone realised how difficult it is to win games, to do good things and go on good runs.
Quote:It was a mixture of disappointment and sadnessPep Guardiola
"United are a top side and top club with a good manager and good players, so it can happen.
"With the Premier League, it's so complicated and so difficult. There's still a lot of work to do to arrive in the last games in contention to win the Premier League.
"We are alive in all competitions, one final, and now the important part of the season arrives."
Title race is alive
Guardiola believes United's performance last weekend perfectly illustrates that the title race is still alive, despite his side's huge advantage at the top of the table.
He added: "When the option is open, anything can happen in football.
"Nobody thought we could win 21 games in a row or 15 games in the Premier League, so anything can happen. I absolutely agree. For people like United, they can do it."
Time for Adams to shine
Ralph Hasenhuttl’s Saints come into the clash on the back of a first win in 10 games after seeing off Sheffield United 2-0.
With Danny Ings out until April, the Austrian is hopeful that Che Adams’ strike in that win — his first since December — is the start of a scoring run.
Quote:Maybe we have the ketchup bottle phenomenonRalph Hasenhuttl
Hasenhuttl said: "He must be, in some moments, more clinical. This is easy to say. A striker always likes to be clinical and make a goal from every chance.
"He had a long run when he didn't score but maybe we have the ketchup bottle phenomenon. So a long time, nothing — then everything comes."
Ings (muscle), Oriol Romeu (ankle) and Theo Walcott (thigh) are all absent for Southampton but City have a fully-fit squad to choose from.