Next up for Manchester City in the Premier League is a trip to St Mary’s Stadium to face Southampton.
Pep Guardiola’s side are finishing the campaign on a high and hope to round it off by securing a place in next season’s Champions League, while the Spanish coach will also have an eye on Arsenal in second place.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 1 |  LiverpoolLiverpool | 35 | 25 | 7 | 3 | 81 | 35 | 46 | 82 |
| 2 |  ArsenalArsenal | 35 | 18 | 13 | 4 | 64 | 31 | 33 | 67 |
| 3 |  Man CityManchester City | 35 | 19 | 7 | 9 | 67 | 43 | 24 | 64 |
| 4 |  NewcastleNewcastle | 35 | 19 | 6 | 10 | 66 | 45 | 21 | 63 |
| 5 |  ChelseaChelsea | 35 | 18 | 9 | 8 | 62 | 41 | 21 | 63 |
Chris Sutton has been impressed with Man City’s recent momentum as the Manchester club are currently on a run of nine games unbeaten, and Gary Neville expects Guardiola’s men to make that 10 on Saturday, albeit by a narrow scoreline.
Man City have been given several boosts lately on the injury front, and one big name in particular is set for minutes against Southampton at the weekend.
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Manchester City team news vs Southampton
Having been out for several weeks with an ankle injury, Erling Haaland has made it clear that he will be ready for the FA Cup final next weekend and as a result, is expected to get some action against Southampton on Saturday to build up his match sharpness.
Rodri returned to Man City training recently, however, the trip down south is likely to come too soon for the Spaniard, as Guardiola is focusing on having the midfielder back for the FIFA Club World Cup this summer.
This week, the Man City boss welcomed Nathan Ake back to training, but the Dutch star is similar to Rodri in the fact that he is not expected to play on Saturday.
John Stones is yet to fully recover from his thigh injury, and Oscar Bobb will not be risked after his recent hamstring issue.
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Pep Guardiola to rest Kevin De Bruyne vs Southampton as Erling Haaland to remain on the bench for Man City
Having returned from injury last week, Ederson is expected to remain between the sticks for Man City’s trip to Southampton, which could potentially mean bad news for the Brazilian’s hopes of starting in the FA Cup final.
Man City fans were impressed with Josko Gvardiol against Wolves last time out and the Croatian is once again expected to partner Ruben Dias at the heart of the City defence as the duo have been excellent in recent weeks.
When it comes to the full-backs, Man City will remain unchanged with Nico O’Reilly expected to begin the game at left-back, with Matheus Nunes starting on the opposite flank.
With the FA Cup final next weekend in mind, Guardiola could start Nico Gonzalez in the number six role, with Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva ahead of the Spaniard, who were the duo Guardiola used against Aston Villa ahead of facing Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup semi-final last month.
As for the forwards, Haaland is expected to remain on the bench against Southampton, although the Norway international is likely to get plenty of minutes against the Saints towards the end.
Starting ahead of the 24-year-old could be Phil Foden, having only played six minutes since returning from injury last month, as the Englishman replaces Kevin De Bruyne in Guardiola’s team, with the Belgian being rested ahead of the FA Cup final and his last game at the Etihad against Bournemouth.
On either side of Foden will be Omar Marmoush and Jeremy Doku, whose speed will be a big problem for Southampton on Saturday.
Manchester City predicted starting XI vs Southampton (4-1-4-1): Ederson; Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly; Gonzalez; Doku, Gundogan, Silva, Marmoush; Foden.
