Both these sides fell to defeats in grand European venues in mid-week and will be hoping for improvements on Sunday.
Manchester City’s David Silva in action with West Ham United’s Enner Valencia
As recently as a decade ago, the idea of Manchester City and Southampton facing each other having just played matches at the Nou Camp and the San Siro respectively would have been ridiculed.
Yet that is exactly the scenario in place ahead of this meeting at the Etihad, with City reeling after a 4-0 thumping at the hands of Barcelona and Saints left feeling hard done by after a 1-0 defeat against Inter Milan.
Attention now switches back to domestic action, with the hosts likely to need a result to maintain their position at the top of the Premier League come the end of the weekend.
Swansea City’s Modou Barrow in action with Southampton’s Oriol Romeu
The Key Battle – David Silva v Oriol Romeu
The clash between the two Spaniards will be critical at the Etihad, as Silva will be looking to operate in the space between the Saints back four and midfield. It will be up to Romeu – who has impressed for Claude Puel’s side this season – to prevent his compatriot causing problems.
Last Meeting:
Saints came out on top in their most recent clash with Manchester City, winning 4-2 at St Mary’s in May in a match notable for Sadio Mane’s hat-trick.
Sadio Mane scored a hat-trick the last time these two teams met, but has since moved on to Liverpool
They are without a win at the Etihad since 2004, when a Kevin Phillips brace helped them on their way to a 3-1 win. Overall, Saints have won this fixture 31 times, City have claimed the points on 29 occasions and there have been 24 draws.
Recent league form – most recent last:
Manchester City – WWWWLD
Southampton – DLWWDW
Who’s the ref?
Mark Clattenburg takes the whistle for this one.
Referee Mark Clattenburg (L)
His most recent match involving City was their derby win over Manchester United in September, while he has shown red cards on each of the last two occasions he has overseen Southampton – though both were for Victor Wanyama, who is no longer a Saints player.
What time is kick-off?
This is the first part of the Super Sunday double header, and kick-off is at 1.30pm.
Where can I watch it?
Sky Sports 1 have live coverage from the Etihad, and their coverage begins at 12.30pm.
BBC Radio 5Live are providing live commentary on the match.
Odds
Manchester City – 1/2
Draw – 100/30
Southampton – 5/1
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