Since taking over at bottom-dwelling Southampton in early November, Nathan Jones has yet to make an impression in the Premier League. His new team has lost all four league games while giving 10 goals in the process.
The Saints came from behind to defeat Lincoln City and Crystal Palace by 2-1 scores in the EFL Cup and FA Cup, with the latter victory coming on Saturday while playing away from home. So, the Welsh manager has had more success grinding out results in cup competitions.
Even James Ward-Prowse will admit that his equaliser at Selhurst Park was intended as a cross despite his reputation for spectacular free kicks.
Nevertheless, that goal gave the Saints a boost as they started to take control of the match. Midway through the second half, Adam Armstrong robbed a sluggish Vicente Guaita and scored the game-winning goal into an empty net.
Southampton will play Blackpool in the Fourth Round of the FA Cup later this month, but they must first return to the EFL Cup as they get ready for the daunting task of facing Man City, a team they have only defeated once in their last 15 meetings.
Southampton easily defeated Cambridge United in the first round, 3-0, and then edged Sheffield Wednesday in the second round, 1-1, before defeating Lincoln in the fourth round.
The Saints head into Wednesday’s fixture having been eliminated from seven of their last eight EFL Cup quarter-final ties, although they were successful in their most recent last-eight contest, beating Arsenal 2-0 in 2017 before reaching the final where they lost out to Manchester United.
Man City began the new year with back-to-back victories over Chelsea in the span of four days after finishing 2022 in a somewhat underwhelming manner with a 1-1 draw at home to Everton.
Last Thursday’s narrow 1-0 victory away in the Premier League was swiftly followed by a commanding 4-0 victory at home in the third round of the FA Cup on Sunday. Pep Guardiola’s team was able to display their clinical side while goal machine Erling Braut Haaland watched on as a substitute.
With Julian Alvarez, Phil Foden, and Riyad Mahrez all scoring, the Citizens easily defeated the West Londoners to advance to the fourth round, where they will play either Oxford United or Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium later this month.
Guardiola’s main objective this season is to pass the Gunners in the Premier League standings, but City, who are attempting to win the EFL Cup for the seventh time in the last ten years, will also be happy with any additional success.
Under Guardiola, the Citizens have only lost two of their 29 EFL Cup games, and both losses came at the hands of rivals Man United. The only other team to defeat Guardiola’s group in this year’s competition was West Ham United, who defeated the Citizens in the fourth round on penalties.
City have won each of their last eight EFL Cup quarter-final ties, including a 3-1 home win against Southampton in October 2019, although this win is their only success against the Saints in four attempts in the competition.
1×2 Betting Odds
Man City will be thought of as heavy favourites to advance to the EFL Cup semifinals, and their victory over Chelsea last weekend showed that they can function without the assistance of several prominent players.
Although Southampton will have been encouraged by their victory at the weekend, beating a ruthless Citizens team will probably be too much for Jones and company.
And the betting market agrees!
Despite playing at home, Southampton are not the favourites to win against Pep Guardiola’s side. Their market odds make them the underdogs @ 15.00.
Manchester City are used to winning this competition in recent times, and their odds of making the final four stands @ 1.27.
The possibility of a stalemate after the 90 mins are played stands @ 7.00.
Total goals over/under
The odds that the total number of goals scored will be over 2.5, stands @ 1.48.
While the odds that the total number of goals will be under 2.5, stands @ 2.86.
Even if Pep decides to rest his important players, Man City could still end up winning handsomely on their trip to Southampton, because of their sheer quality.
The over/under odds you see here for total goals are just reflective of that reality.
so, expect City to win, and win comfortably against the Saints!
