City exited the Carabao Cup in the quarter-finals thanks to their 2-0 loss to the Saints – by the bottom side of the Premier League – while their two most recent Premier League games at Etihad were a defeat to Brentford and a draw against Everton.
City are behind Arsenal by five points
Pep Guardiola admitted he was not surprised by his side’s 2-0 defeat by Southampton on Wednesday and warned his players that they could not afford to relax in what could be seen as lower-importance matches. City exited the Carabao Cup in the quarter-finals thanks to their 2-0 loss to the Saints – by the bottom side of the Premier League – while their two most recent Premier League games at Etihad were a defeat to Brentford and a draw against Everton. Defending champions Guardiola finds himself five points behind Mikel Arteta’s side, his former assistant – and Man City midfielder Ilkay Gandogan admitted this week that “the team’s hunger may not be as it was.”
The Manchester Derby
Manchester City face the Manchester derby on Saturday, and ahead of that match to Old Trafford, City coach said: “What happened against Southampton didn’t surprise me. We tried to avoid it. It happened, unfortunately, and hopefully, it will not happen again. I was interested at the start of the season, it could happen, and it did happen. I wonder if this is going to happen again. Let’s be on our own, and let’s act like we have to, every game. After what happened at Southampton, the last thing I’m worried about is the title. It has to come to life who you are, game by game. In important games this season, we have been there in all competitions. But only in hypothetical ‘important’ games. In others, not usually. It’s normal after previous seasons, and you need to change it – immediately.”
“Be humble because things won’t come to us automatically”
Gundogan told his teammates to “be humble because things won’t come to us automatically” in the wake of the defeat at St. Mary’s, adding that “something was off”. The head coach agreed with his midfielder’s assessment but pushed back on speculation that the Southampton display would influence his choice to play against Manchester United, saying: “No – that’s not about it. Before choosing, you never know how a player is going to play. Some players train really, really, really badly the day before a game, then after, they play fantastic. And also the opposite. When 11 players don’t play well, something is missing.” Saturday’s visit to Old Trafford will be the first time Manchester City have stood United since they defeated their rivals 6-3 at Etihad in October, with Erling Haaland and Phil Foden both scoring hat-tricks.
It was Manchester United’s third defeat in their first seven Premier League games under Erik ten Hag, but the boss – who worked as a reserve coach for Bayern Munich while Guardiola was in charge of the senior side – has seen an impressive turnaround since that humiliating loss. The Red Devils have taken 2.3 points per match in the Premier League since that trip to Etihad, whereas City have taken 2.11, with Ten Hag’s squad now fourth, just four points behind their neighbours. Guardiola insisted he was not surprised by United’s surge and joked that Saturday’s meeting would involve “top-notch managers” from both sides. “Manchester United has improved a lot,” Guardiola said. “It’s okay – a new manager has arrived. Team improvement is clear.”