Manchester City can turn up the heat on leaders Liverpool
with a victory over in-form Southampton at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
Due largely to their League Cup, FA Cup and UEFA
Champions League commitments, City have fallen off the pace at the top - with
Brendan Rodgers' side taking full advantage to move four points ahead of the
2011-12 champions.
With just the Premier League left to focus on, manager
Manuel Pellegrini can ill-afford any more slip-ups following last Saturday's
1-1 draw at Arsenal.
City, who have also dropped below Chelsea but have two
games in hand on the sides above them, meet Liverpool next weekend in a crucial
fixture at the top, and Pellegrini will want to head into that game with a win
behind them.
With Liverpool not in action until Sunday, City have a
chance to apply some pressure on the Merseysiders and they boast an impressive
home record.
Pellegrini's men have made the Etihad a fortress this
season, winning 13 of their 14 league games on home soil.
The solitary defeat came against Chelsea in February, but
City's response has been to take 14 points from six league games since then.
Pellegrini could be without leading goalscorer Sergio
Aguero this weekend, with the striker not having featured since limping out of
their Champions League defeat to Barcelona in March.
However, Southampton boss Mauricio Pochettino insists
that he would welcome the Argentina international's return.
"I would like to play against him," he said.
"I always want to face the best."
Pochettino's charges - who earned a 1-1 draw at home to
City, when Aguro was on target for the visitors - have found their goalscoring
touch lately, hitting 10 in the last three games.
English trio Jay Rodriguez, Adam Lallana and Rickie
Lambert have been Southampton's main source of inspiration, with all three
having found the net in Saturday's 4-0 win over Newcastle as they moved back
into eighth.
And defender Luke Shaw - who could join the likes of
Lallana, Rodriguez and Lambert in England's World Cup squad - feels that the
sky is the limit for Southampton.
"I think in the next year or so we can be
challenging the top five teams," he said.
"They've got to get the manager down on a long-term
contract, which will probably be the first thing they try and do."
Victor Wanyama could return for Southampton following a
calf problem, although Kelvin Davis (back), Nathaniel Clyne (groin) and Maya
Yoshida (knee) remain sidelined.
As well as Aguero, Pellegrini also has doubts over Micah
Richards and Matija Nastasic (both knee).
Culled from Soccerway
0 comments:
Post a Comment