Our prediction for this Premier League match:
Man City
Match Time & Date:
26/10/2024
07:00 AM
Prediction: 4-1
Southampton
David faces Goliath at Etihad Stadium as Manchester City and Southampton go head to head in the Premier League round 9. The Citizens survived Wolverhampton at the weekend, with John Stones scoring a late winner at Molineux and they are now on a quest to overtake Liverpool in top position. Jack Grealish is pushing for a start after coming as a substitute in the last league match, while Pep Guardiola is unlikely to risk star midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, who returned to training. Kyle Walker has joined Rodri in the recovery room.
The Saints, on the other hand, are low on confidence following three consecutive defeats. As Southampton experienced all sorts of problems at the back in a 3-2 loss to Leicester City, anything but a routine home win would be a big surprise. Ryan Fraser is banned for the visiting team, while Will Smallbone has overcome his injury.
Highlighted Player (Mateo Kovacic):
Born to Croatian parents in Linz, Austria, Mateo Kovacic spent seven years in the LASK Linz youth academy before joining Dinamo Zagreb, where he showed a great deal of potential shortly after being promoted to the senior squad.
The good return of 7 goals in 43 league appearances saw him secure a high-profile move to Inter Milan, where he acted as both holding midfielder and attacking midfielder, during the three years at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza. And despite not exactly impressing in Italy, Kovacic was purchased by mighty Real Madrid, where he has been ever since. The youngster is widely regarded as one of Croatia’s most talented footballers at the moment and he has represented the country on international stage since the age of 19.
In just three years he managed to make over 25 appearances for the national team, playing at the 2014 World Cup and Euro 2016 finals for Vatreni. Kovavic has yet to be given a real chance to impress at Real Madrid, but he has entire future ahead of him.
Highlighted Team (Southampton):
Southampton are an English football club that have been playing their home games at St Mary's Stadium since 2001. The Saints were based at The Dell in the past and the capacity of Southampton’s new stadium is 32,505. Southampton wear red and white striped shirts and the colour of the team’s away kit is navy and green.
The Saints have yet to win the Premier League trophy, but they did well to clinch the FA Cup title back in 1976, while participating in the final of the prestigious competition in 1900, 1902 and 2003. Southampton outplayed Manchester United in the 1976 FA Cup final and that is probably the club’s greatest victory ever.
The club are well known for their football academy and Real Madrid superstar Gareth Bale is one of the players who began their football carrier at the St. Mary’s Stadium outfit. Southampton’s fiercest rivals are Portsmouth and the two teams square off against each other in the South Coast Derby.
Leicester
Chelsea
Arsenal
Nottingham Forest
Aston Villa
Crystal Palace 
Milan 
Juventus 
Tottenham
Celta Vigo 
Barcelona 
