Alan Shearer believes Man City will take full advantage of Southampton ‘damage’ this weekend

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Manchester City are back in Premier League action this weekend.

With eight league matches played, City have won six and drawn two, scoring more goals (19) than any other side in the division but only keeping one clean sheet along the way.

Having picked up 20 points at this stage of the campaign, Pep Guardiola’s side are now one point behind league leaders Liverpool and three above Arsenal in third place.

Following on from their 5-0 Champions League win over Sparta Prague at the Etihad Stadium in midweek, the Blues are back on home turf again on Saturday with a league clash against Southampton.

Looking ahead to this latest league match where City could extend their unbeaten streak against the Saints, one pundit has shared his thoughts on the game and pointed out a particular factor the home side could take advantage of.

• READ MORE: Man City Premier League fixture list for 2024/25 season in full

Alan Shearer shares prediction for Man City vs Southampton

In a recent article for Metro, Alan Shearer gave his previews and predictions for this weekend’s round of Premier League fixtures.

On City’s match with the Saints, the former striker had this to say about it.

He said: “With Southampton throwing away a 2-0 lead at home last week, you can just imagine the damage it does for the belief and confidence of everyone involved.

“The last game you need is to go to the champions, a huge football club with a genius of a manager. It would take a brave or stupid man to predict that Southampton will get any points at Man City. 

“Home win for me.” 

City’s next few Premier League games are crucial

As the former Newcastle United star mentioned, Southampton’s previous league game saw them blow a 2-0 lead at home to Leicester City and lose 3-2.

While Shearer has predicted that City are pretty much nailed on to get a win against Southampton, their next few Premier League fixtures could end up being much trickier for the Blues.

Looking back to City’s previous league match where they came from behind to beat Wolves 2-1 at Molineux, Shearer was full of praise for Josko Gvardiol and the goal he scored to put his side level, saying this about it.

He said: “Man City needed something special to get past a deep-lying, resolute Wolves defence, and Gvardiol did just that with his brilliant long-range equaliser.”

Regardless of that and Southampton’s potentially dented mentality following their previous defeat, everyone at City will be focused on themselves and making sure they do all they can to pick up a victory so they can take a step closer to potentially winning another league trophy.