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Saints At Manchester City The Preview

Citeh have only dropped points in one Premier League game all season, ironically against our opponents on Sunday Everton, can Saints be the first team to take a point off them since that game back in August.

Manchester City have almost been invincible this season, in every competition they have won every game apart from a draw against Everton in the second game of the Premier League season and a surprising draw against Championship side Wolves in the League Cup, although they did win that on penalties.

So can Saints be the first team to go to take a point off of City since that Everton game, indeed as they finished last season with four straight wins you have to go back to April last season when they lost at Chelsea for their last defeat in 90 minutes.

That is an awesome record and one that on paper does not look likely to change given Saints recent form, but stranger things have happened and in football every victory only brings you one step nearer to your next defeat, the odds say that it will be Saints tasting that, but we do have the players to go there and get a result as we did last season.

Mauricio Pellegrino has no new injuries and has Oriol Romeu back from suspension and given the burst of three games in a week he is likely to make changes for this game and to be blunt if he doesn't I would be surprised.

He has to look at putting out a side that can keep it tight at the back and match City for workrate and try to catch them on the break.

That means a tight back four and the starting defensive four on Sunday looked to be getting back to their normal selves and I would not look beyond that.

In midfield it is trickier, before Sunday's game you would not have looked beyond Lemina and Romeu as your central pairing, but Pierre Emile Hojbjerg has given Pellegrino a dilemma, he has five central midfielders to fill three spaces who does he drop.

Personally I would bring back both Lemina and Romeu and play Hojbjerg just in front of them, that would leave Steven Davis and James Ward Prowse on the bench.

Wide I would go for Sofiane Boufal and Nathan Redmond for their pace and up front Shane Long.

Some would be surprised at this but we need a workmanlike busy side out there on Wednesday, we cant atch them for tippy tappy football, we have to do what we did last year and get behind the ball and go on the break, Boufal and Redmond are best for that and Long is the man who can defend from the front.

This is saving those dropped for what is a game we can win when we travel to Bournemouth, I would rather a fit Charlie Austin for that one than play him in this game which frankly is not going to be one that will suit him.

This is not being defeatist, merely pragmatic, we have to look at what we have in the squad and utilise them to the best of their ability, we have to play to our strengths in battling and that means a big and strong midfield trio plus the pace and guile of Hoedt and Van Dijk in the centre of defence.

Sunday reminded us that we have a good set of players, but this season and indeed last they have not been well led, when they are they are capable of a lot lot more than they have shown and it is about time they showed again that on their day they can match the top sides in the division.

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