How Man City should line up vs Southampton in Premier League fixture

Manchester City travel down to the south coast to take on Southampton on Saturday.

The Saints are fighting for their lives at the bottom of the Premier League table and will go into the game buoyed by the fact they pulled off an upset by knocking City out of the Carabao Cup when the sides last met earlier this year. The Blues are desperate for the three points themselves as they continue to battle Arsenal for the title.

Pep Guardiola's side take to the field first this weekend so can close the gap on the leaders to five points with a win before the Gunners face Liverpool on Sunday. City will be boosted by the return of Erling Haaland.

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They didn't miss their star striker much last week as they stuck four past Liverpool but his return following a groin injury will be most welcome. Guardiola said in pre-match press conference: "He trained last two days really good. He will be ready."

MEN Sport writers have given the starting XI they would select for the match and you can pick your own in the widget below.

Erling Haaland has to come back into the team if fit. He may not want 90 minutes but it is better to start and bring him off ahead of Bayern than either not to use him at all or bring him off the bench.

At the same time, Julian Alvarez also should play after doing so well not just against Liverpool but when he started alongside Haaland at Bournemouth earlier in the season. To accommodate him, Bernardo Silva is better in a wide role to be able to cover more grass than Riyad Mahrez would and John Stones needs the nod over Kyle Walker to come into midfield and provide another body.

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