Southampton could not have had a harder set of fixtures this week and Ralph Hasenhuttl will have a real mission on his hands with the Saints.
Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson has issued a scathing criticism of Southampton, claiming that the Saints “have to pray” for enough rain to see their upcoming games called off (Sky Sports News).
Ralph Hasenhuttl’s charges have not had the best of times so far this season but last Friday saw a particularly low point as they were thrashed 9-0 by Leicester – at St Mary’s, no less.
The fixture calendar has not been nice to Southampton as they now find themselves up against the mighty Manchester City, twice in quick succession, and both times at the Etihad.
First up for the Saints is Man City in the League Cup tonight, and then they will face Pep Guardiola’s side in the Premier League on Saturday, and Merson has hinted that a double-figure scoreline is not out of the equation.
“For Southampton, they have to pray that it rains that much that the games get called off in the next couple of days against Man City,” Merson told Sky Sports News. “The last thing you want is Man City away twice in a week. Some people might say they’d rather that than playing against a lesser team, but not me.
“Southampton were that bad against Leicester, and I’m not being horrible, but if Man City get going, that record is in danger. How many times have you seen Man City play and after the game gone ‘they could have won that 10-0’. They only have to have a game where they start finishing all their chances and Southampton are in trouble.”
Man City are looking for their sixth straight win against Southampton and haven’t lost at home to the Saints since the visitors came away with 3-1 win in April 2004, according to The Express.
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