Manchester City striker Sergio Agüero (R) dribbles past Liverpool's Lucas Leiva. (Photo : Getty Images)
Erstwhile league leader Manchester City (8-3-2, 26 points) is keen on redeeming itself from a heartbreaking loss last week as they host hard-fighting Southampton FC (5-3-5, 20 points) at the Etihad Stadium for a crucial 2015-2016 Premier League season encounter.
Manchester City relinquished league leadership last Saturday when they dropped an upsetting 1-4 decision to a revitalized Liverpool squad at their own home turf of the Etihad, as per NBC Sports.
Striker Sergio Agüero provided the lone goal for Manuel Pellegrini's squad while they could not stop the Reds' attacks led by Brazilian winger Philippe Coutinho.
It was City's third winless game in their last four matches, which allowed Leicester City and Manchester United to overtake them in the league table by two points and a point respectively.
Meanwhile, Southampton fell to Stoke City, 0-1, at the St. Mary's Stadium last Saturday to snap their five-game unbeaten run, via Sports Mole.
Stoke forward Bojan Krkić netted the only goal right at the 10th minute as both teams were held scoreless for the rest of the match.
The Saints are still at the eighth spot in the league table, tied on points with Everton and Liverpool, but they have a +5 goal differential as compared to the Reds +2 and Everton's +8.
City is projected to bounce back with a vengeance although Southampton will give them a fight before they can pull off a win.
The predicted result is a 2-0 victory for Manchester City.
Manchester City starting lineup (4-2-3-1 formation): Hart; Kolarov, Mangala, Demichelis, Sagna; Fernando, De Bruyne; Touré, Sterling, Navas; Agüero
Southampton starting lineup (4-2-3-1 formation): Stekelenburg; Fonte, Bertrand, Soares, van Dijk; Long, Wanyama; Tadic, Clasie, Davis; Pellè
