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2022/23 English Premier League
Matchday 30
Southampton v Manchester City
St Mary's
Southampton, England
Saturday, 8 April 2023
Kick-off is at 18h30
Manchester City will be eyeing a fifth
Premier League win on the spin when they face rock-bottom Southampton at St Mary's on Saturday, April 8 in the late kick-off.
The Citizens kept their slim title hopes alive with a 4-1 victory over Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium last Saturday, which temporarily closed the gap to league leaders Arsenal to five points.
However, the Gunners went eight points clear of their closest rivals after beating Leeds by the same scoreline a couple of hours later.
Pep Guardiola's side should at least have second place in the bag as neighbours Manchester United dropped more points last Sunday when they lost 2-0 at Newcastle, who overtook them into third spot on goal difference, with both teams tied on 50 points, 14 behind City.
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The Saints' struggles continued after a 1-0 defeat at West Ham extended their winless run to four games and left them rooted to the foot of the table on 23 points, three adrift of safety.
Bournemouth's 2-1 triumph over Fulham lifted them out of the relegation zone up to 16th position, one point clear of Leeds (17th) and Everton (18th), with Leicester (19th) a further point behind them.
James Ward-Prowse has been a model of consistency for the south-coast club, featuring every minute of their 29 games this term. The midfielder is one of the best set-piece takers in the world at the moment and his recent winner against Chelsea saw him close within one of David Beckham's record of 18 goals scored from direct free-kicks in the Premier League.
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Jack Grealish is finally starting to deliver on his potential at City after producing an outstanding performance against the Reds, registering a goal and an assist. It was his 10th consecutive start under Guardiola and Grealish's recent form has partly kept Riyad Mahrez on the bench.
In team news, the hosts remain without Juan Larios (thigh), Valentino Livramento and Armel Bella-Kotchap (shoulder), while Che Adams (calf) and Mohamed Salisu are rated doubtful. Guardiola has an almost fully-fit squad at his disposal, with Phil Foden still recovering from surgery on his appendix and Erling Haaland a slight doubt with a groin injury.
Southampton manager Ruben Selles admitted the loss to the Hammers came down to small margins once more and has challenged his players to learn from their mistakes in a bid to escape the drop.
"It was frustrating because we have all of the arguments to get something good from today but it's just one occasion that took everything out," Selles said.
"We have experienced that in so many games this season, it's been there for us, we just need to fight to get those margins back into our side.
"Don't let things happen as an individual and that's the message - we go again. We have to learn again from this game and go on focusing to the next opponent."
Guardiola acknowledges that City cannot afford any slip-ups in their remaining eight matches as he doesn't foresee Arsenal doing them any favours in the pursuit of a first title since 2003-04.
"We are in the moment that we lived before. I have the feeling that if we lose a game we lose the competition," the Spaniard said.
"The biggest opponent I had in my career is Liverpool, we had to win 18 games in a row and 14 games in a row to win the league. That is a good way to play. If we lose to Southampton, we are out.
"I don't expect Arsenal are going to drop a lot of points like I didn't expect it in the past when we won the Premier League by just one point against Liverpool."
Head-to-Head (Last Five Premier League Meetings)
Matches - 5
Southampton - 0
Man City - 3
Draws - 2
Matchday 30 fixtures:
Saturday, April 8
13h30: Manchester United v Everton
16h00: Aston Villa v Nottingham Forest
16h00: Brentford v Newcastle United
16h00: Fulham v West Ham United
16h00: Leicester City v Bournemouth
16h00: Tottenham Hotspur v Brighton & Hove Albion
16h00: Wolverhampton Wanderers v Chelsea
18h30: Southampton v Manchester City
Sunday, April 9
15h00: Leeds United v Crystal Palace
17h30: Liverpool v Arsenal
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