Kevin De Bruyne on the verge of equalling United, Chelsea, and Arsenal legends – Stat Preview: Southampton vs Manchester City (Premier League)

Manchester City return to Premier League action after a rare week off from duties with a south coast visit to take on strugglers Southampton.

Pep Guardiola’s players earned a much-needed week off from match action, and three days away from Manchester City duties entirely, following their dominant 4-1 victory over Liverpool last weekend.

Goals from Julian Alvarez, Ilkay Gundogan, Jack Grealish, and Kevin De Bruyne put the scoreline beyond any doubt, despite Mohamed Salah initially putting Liverpool ahead in the first-half and indicating that Erling Haaland’s absence may indeed be costly.

However, no such victory was to come from a bold Liverpool performance, as Manchester City crushed their once-Premier League title rivals to keep up the pressure on leaders Arsenal at the top of the division.

More of the same will be required from Pep Guardiola’s players this weekend, with nothing other than three points deemed as satisfactory if they are to retain hope of winning a third successive Premier League crown.

Ahead of a clash at St Mary’s this weekend, here are all of the standout statistics and potential landmarks to look out for.

Southampton

• Southampton won two of their first three Premier League games under Ruben Selles (L1), but are winless in their last four under the Spaniard (D2, L2), failing to score in three of those games.

• Southampton kept six clean sheets in their first nine home Premier League games in the 2020/21 campaign but since then the Saints have kept just seven in 43 league games at St Mary’s, with just one of those coming this season – the fewest of any team.

• Southampton’s current tally of 18 defeats is one shy of their club record in a 38-game Premier League season: 19 in 1998-99 and 2020-21.

• Southampton have only earned 11 points in 15 matches since Ralph Hasenhuttl was sacked, one fewer than they amassed over 14 fixtures under the Austrian this season.

• Southampton have the worst home record in the division, with two wins and 10 points from 14 games.

• Ruben Selles’ side are the joint-lowest scorers in the Premier League this season, with 23 goals.

• Southampton have failed to win any of the last six league fixtures in which they conceded the opening goal, drawing one and losing five.

Manchester City

• Manchester City have won their last four Premier League matches – their longest winning run of the season. They last won five in a row in April and May 2022.

• Jack Grealish has been directly involved in eight goals in 14 league appearances since the World Cup break, scoring three and setting up five. He had one goal and no assists in eight top-flight games prior to the World Cup.

• Manchester City have won seven consecutive matches in all competitions, including four top-flight victories in a row for the first time this season.

• Julian Alvarez has scored six times in seven Premier League starts.

• Under Pep Guardiola, Manchester City have won all nine league games against teams starting the day bottom of the table, scoring a combined 34 goals without reply.

• Manchester City can keep successive Premier League away clean sheets for the first time this season.

• Manchester City have conceded 26 league goals this campaign, already equalling their final tally from 2021-22.

Previous Meetings

• Southampton have only won one of their last 13 Premier League matches against Manchester City (D3, L9) – a 1-0 home win in July 2020.

• Manchester City have won four of their last six away Premier League games against Southampton (D1, L1), although they drew 1-1 last season at St Mary’s.

• Southampton won the recent meeting 2-0 at home in an EFL Cup quarter-final on 11 January – one of only two victories for Southampton in 16 games vs Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City (D3, L11).

Potential Landmarks

• Kevin De Bruyne is one short of becoming the fifth player to make 100 Premier League assists, after Ryan Giggs, Cesc Fabregas, Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard.