Three simple lessons Man City can learn from Southampton cup defeat to keep pressure on Arsenal

Ilkay Gundogan said 'something's off' after Manchester City fell to an abject 2-0 defeat at Southampton in the Carabao Cup in January. Pep Guardiola had a feeling a performance of that nature was coming, that the Blues were not ready to fight for the win and declared his side had 'no chance' in the following trip to Manchester United.

The Southampton loss was the nadir of City's season, but has proven to be something of a turning point as Guardiola's side have lost just two of the next 16 games, and one in the last 15. As they prepare to return to St Mary's in the Premier League on Saturday, Guardiola has said any slip-up will cost City the title against Arsenal's formidable form.

With Southampton fighting for their lives, there is simply no room for a repeat of the cup performance. Luckily, Guardiola will know that the fixes are simple to generate some instant improvements.

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Team selection

For a start, his team selection in the League Cup was reflective of the fixture being sandwiched in between away trips to Chelsea and Manchester United in the Premier League. There were starts for Stefan Ortega, Sergio Gomez, Kalvin Phillips, Cole Palmer and Julian Alvarez. Phil Foden was in midfield, Kyle Walker was a centre-back, and Joao Cancelo was being switched from side to side whenever he got the chance to play.

On the bench, there were six players who will be confident of starting this weekend, with another four all in good form and offering an improvement on the cup line up. Ederson, Nathan Ake, Rodri, Riyad Mahrez, Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland (if fit) would all improve the City side from the start, while Bernardo