Betting Tips: Southampton vs Man City

The visitors have lost their last two games and are in need of victory at St Mary's, but our tipster thinks they will have to work hard for the points

Manchester City will be desperate to get back on track when they travel to Southampton on Sunday afternoon.

Pep Guardiola’s men were top of the league by two points after 15 games but three losses in their last four games means they now sit third, trailing Spurs by one point and Liverpool by seven.

Despite being on their worst run of form in almost three years, City are available at just 3/10 (1.30) with 888Sport to get back to winning ways on the south coast.

A Southampton win is priced at 9/1 (10.0) whilst a draw – which has occurred in just one of the last 10 meetings between the sides – is 19/4 (5.75).

Ryan Bertrand could miss his eighth straight game and Cedric Soares will hope to recover but was not in the squad as the Saints lost 2-1 to West Ham. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg will return after suspension.

David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne could be set for starts after struggling with injuries recently, whilst Fernandinho is not completely ruled out.

Not since December 2016 had Manchester City lost two Premier League games in a row but defeats to Crystal Palace and Leicester City have left the champions off the pace.

Guardiola would dearly love a big performance at St. Mary’s however with a huge match against Liverpool coming on Thursday, City’s attention may be elsewhere.

Southampton are certainly no pushovers at home, having only lost three games there this season – the fewest of any team outside the Big Six – and their spirits may have been dampened by the 2-1 defeat to West Ham.

That defeat to the Hammers was the first home loss of the Ralph Hassenhuttl era but it also means they have still lost just one game at St. Mary’s by more than one goal this season.

City should have enough to claim victory but may still be reeling from defeat at Leicester, so the 17/20 (1.85) on Southampton (+2) looks a solid price ahead of both sides’ final match of 2018.