Southampton 0-1 Man City LIVE: Erling Haaland heads home his TWENTY-NINTH Premier League goal this season just before half-time as visitors look to close the gap to five points on Arsenal
Follow Sportsmail’s live blog for the Premier League clash between Southampton and Manchester City.
Host commentator
We’re back under way in the second half.
What can Ruben Selles do to get the Saints back on level terms? As they were comfortably a match for the Citizens, but the goal changes everything.
Will Pep Guardiola be happy with the way his team handled that first half? They didn’t look their usual selves, and it’s only the scoreline that makes for happy reading. But then it’s only the scoreline that counts as well…
Southampton have coped well, but will they switch it up as they chase the game?
Kevin De Bruyne made 100 Premier League assists in 237 matches. It’s a new record – the Belgian smashing Cesc Fabregas’s prior record by 56 games.
This was the moment, right on half-time, where Haaland punished the Saints. Excellent header.
Southampton have been resilient throughout that first half, but undone right at the end, and now they face an uphill battle to get something from the game.
Manchester City lead at the break. It feels like a harsh punishment for Southampton, who have caused a fair number of problems to Pep Guardiola and the gang. What can the Saints do after the break?
Kevin De Bruyne’s ball across for Haaland is his 100th assist in the Premier League. They don’t get much more accurate than that.
Who else?
Right on the stroke of half-time, the ball is weighted perfectly into the middle of the penalty box, and the Norwegian nods home for his 43rd goal in all competitions this season – and 29 in the Premier League.
VAR takes a look at it, but there’s nothing to outlaw it, so we’re under way for two minutes of stoppage time. 1-0 Manchester City.
44′: Romeo Lavia works it well on the edge of the box, and it looks like he’s going to shoot. Instead, he sets up Sulemana, who sends the shot low but wide. A golden opportunity for the hosts.
43′: Man City have won six corners in this half – and the hosts haven’t won any.
Not that any of them have amounted to anything notable, like this one from Grealish.
41′: The ball is played in by Man City, and a deflection loops the ball awkwardly in the air. It falls for Haaland to head it, and he’s narrowly wide. I think some in the ground thought it had nestled in the net, but it’s not to be #43. Yet.
40′: De Bruyne looks to set Haaland free on the edge of the box, but it bounces awkwardly for the Norwegian, and Bazunu is able to catch it.
37′: Southampton’s free-kick is played short, and then passed around. Maitland-Niles takes an opportunity to play the ball into the box, but nobody is there, and it drifts out of play.
John Stones goes into the book for a tackle in the middle of the park. It’s his second caution of the season.
Pep Guardiola looking quizzical on the visitors bench. What can they do?
34′: Now Grealish tackles former Man City man Lavia, and the Saints have a freekick midway down their own half, which is played back to the goalkeeper.
Both sides happy to play it around calmly as they look to build good opportunities.
32′: Manchester City’s fourth corner of the night is played long, but Gundogan’s header is simple enough for the Saints goalkeeper to gather.
31′: Manchester City calling for a penalty – Jack Grealish’s ball hits Ward-Prowse on the hand, and whilst it looks bad on the replay, the Saints player is just too close to avoid it.
Still scoreless on the half hour mark.
30′: Manchester City trying to work their way forward around Southampton, but the Saints are resolute in defence.
Then the hosts want a free-kick at the other end, but the referee waves it away.
Grealish is back up and running – and then gets brought down in a tackle by Maitland-Niles in the centre of the park.
24′: Jack Grealish goes down, and the referee halts play. I think there’s initial concern it’s a head injury, but it was just a header, and then he fell awkwardly under a Saints challenge.
Good opportunity for the bosses to give their sides information though.
Halfway through the first half and nothing to split these teams so far.
20′: The Saints push, but Elyounoussi’s cross is just over the head of Alcaraz.
Promising from the hosts…
There was a good chance for Gundogan from the first of those City corners, which was deflected wide.
The second corner is when Sulemana made that blistering run… but he’ll be hoping to be able to do something with it if the opportunity arises again.
15′: A couple of consecutive Man City corners lead to pressure from the visitors, but Southampton break away. Kamaldeen Sulemana runs down the length of the pitch, but he’s on his own, and there’s no options for him. He gets it into the City box, but a loose touch and an intervention from the goalkeeper means it amounts to nothing. Still there’s that danger from the Saints…
13′: Bella-Kotchap is in place to head away two attempted crosses from De Bruyne and Mahrez.
Tough to tell who’ll be happier from these opening exchanges. Neither side really crafting anything exceptional, but both happy to be controlled and sensible in the midfield.
Who will add the spark?
12′: Manchester City have a corner, which they try to play into the box, but it fizzles out.
10′: Man City press, and De Bruyne gets a ball across the box despite being off balance. It’s headed away.
Ten minutes played still goalless.
This is the moment Jack Grealish had his earlier shot saved. He’s been in impeccable form since returning from the World Cup. Will he make the difference at St Mary’s?
There’s a shadow covering two thirds of the pitch, but the bright sunshine in the rest of it is causing problems for players. They’re holding their arms up to see where the ball is.
5′: Man City play it around in their box, but Ederson looks shaky. Luckily they get it away…
and then go straight up the other end, where Grealish has a shot from distance which stings the hands of Bazunu. End-to-end from the reigning champions.
3′: Southampton play a teasing ball across the box, but there’s no one there to connect.
One of the biggest problems the Saints have had is getting those goals. Wonder how many chances they’ll get today…
Manchester City in their fluorescent third kit this afternoon. Southampton in their traditional red and white home attire.
20th versus 2nd. Who have you got?
The players coming out onto the pitch.
Can Man City keep up the pressure on Arsenal? Will the Saints move above the Foxes? So many questions to be answered over the next 90 minutes plus stoppage time.
Just moments until we get underway at St Mary’s.
Erling Haaland replaces Alvarez, who played well last week. Pep Guardiola accepts that Alvarez was unlucky to miss out, but he’s chosen the Norwegian from the start. The boss accepts Southampton have ‘always’ been a tough opponent – even when they’ve won – so he’ll be expecting a similar challenge today.
Just over 15 minutes left until things get underway in the final Premier League game of the day.
It’s clear the visitors want to work the wings – and these two will be critical in doing that. They’ll begin as Goliath – but they still need to make sure they get the job done.
On the wings! ✈️#ManCity pic.twitter.com/CdLkGwMNfp
Ruben Selles tells Sky Sports that his team are focused on the battle to avoid the drop. His changes are tactical, to try and undermine the work of Pep Guardiola. Theo Walcott says Southampton must be ‘brave’ as they take on the challenge of Man City. He also accepts that a result today would benefit ‘a few others’ – including Arsenal.
After 11 years in the Premier League, what can Southampton do to join Burnley and the big guns in the 20 for 2023/24?
A big result against the reigning champions would be a statement at the bottom of the table – and a win would send Leicester City bottom.
Half an hour until kick off at St Mary’s.
What will the return of the Norwegian change for the visitors? He’ll be eager to shake off any injury concerns, especially with a run of crucial fixtures coming up domestically and in Europe.
Meanwhile, Kevin De Bruyne will hope for a good performance in the centre of the park, as Manchester City go first in this weekend’s title-deciding matches.
Theo Walcott was relaxed posing for selfies and signing autographs as he entered into the stadium earlier. Will the former Arsenal man give their title bid a huge boost?
Newcastle beat Brentford, so Man City will start this evening eight points clear of the Magpies – but Guardiola’s men are looking at eating into the octet of points before them, not looking over their shoulder.
Leicester City’s 1-0 home defeat to Bournemouth means Southampton are two points behind them – and the Saints move 19th with three points today. If only it was that easy.
Here’s Sportsmail’s live blog covering all of today’s 3pm kick-offs.
The Saints will be buoyed by their 2-0 win over Man City in the League Cip in January. Mara and Djenepo got the first-half goals that night – but they’re both starting today’s clash on the bench. Could we see late firepower from the Saints instead?
Manchester City begin eight points behind Arsenal in the hunt for the top flight trophy, but with the Gunners on a potentially treacherous trip to Anfield tomorrow, this is a chance for the Citizens to throw down the gauntlet.
There’s never any easy games in the Premier League, but for the bottom side, they don’t come much trickier than Man City. The visitors are fighting on three fronts, and play Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Tuesday.
The headline news for Pep Guardiola’s side is the return of Erling Haaland after a groin problem. Will he add to his extensive goal tally this evening?
𝘛𝘌𝘈𝘔 𝘕𝘌𝘞𝘚 📋
XI | Ederson, Stones, Akanji, Dias, Ake, Rodrigo, De Bruyne, Gundogan (C), Mahrez, Grealish, Haaland
SUBS | Ortega Moreno, Walker, Phillips, Laporte, Alvarez, Bernardo, Gomez, Palmer, Lewis#ManCity | @HaysWorldwide pic.twitter.com/1gKWyYC4N1
First, that all important team news.
James Ward-Prowse captains the hosts, as they make four changes. Southampton sit adrift at the bottom of the table, and urgently need to pick up points if they want to avoid the dreaded drop at the end of next month.
Four changes for #SaintsFC 📝
Here's the side taking on #ManCity at St Mary's: pic.twitter.com/vsDjUkx5zc
Hello and welcome to Sportsmail’s live blog covering the 5.30pm kick-off from St Mary’s.
The quintessential bottom versus top clash, as bottom side Southampton host treble challengers Manchester City. For an Easter weekend, many are used to one-way traffic… but will we see that tonight on the South Coast?
Kick off less than an hour away.
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