Man City V Southampton
This should be a pretty tough introduction to the new Premier League season for Southampton, who just pipped West Ham to the second automatic promotion place from the Championship. They have to kick off in a thankless task against the reigning Champions. That should mean that City have a comfortable opener, especially being in their own back yard. Will this just be a strong foregone conclusion and an easy three points in the bag for Roberto Mancini’s men or will the newly promoted Saints have a surprise up their sleeve?
Man City v Southampton Betting Odds at online bookmaker Bet365:
Man City 1/6, Draw 6/1, Southampton 16/1
Verdict:
Naturally the Citizens go as the strong and heavy favourites for this one and will be expected to walk away with a comfortable win against the newcomers. City looked simply outstanding during the second half of the Community Shield against Chelsea. Granted they were playing ten men, but the movement and the sharpness of the forward play and the balance in the side looked incredible They look as if they can turn on the power play whenever they want and simply cruise past teams. That is what could easily happen on Sunday, as they will start fresh and full of optimism in the defence of their title. This is a match which should yield goals for the home side and you should be able to push the boat out to a City -2 Asian Handicap at odds of 21/20 with online bookmaker Bet365.
Stat Attack:
City produced the most amount of shots on goal in the EPL last season
The Citizens almost produced a perfect home season, dropping just two points
City have won 27 of their last 29 EPL home matches
In the last three seasons only one newly promoted team has claimed victory in their opening match
Head to Head:
While they haven’t come together since January 2007 when they met in the FA Cup, there is an pretty even standing in fixtures between these at Man City. There have been 14 home wins and 11 victories by the visiting Saints. Interestingly, City lost three home matches in a row against Southampton before winning the most recent two. However, that was a long time ago and you have to take into the consideration the gulf in class between the two sides on the weekend
Online bookmaker promotion:
Online bookmaker Ladbrokes have a great Money Back Special running for Man City v Southampton betting. Carlos Tevez returned from exile at the back end of last season and partnered up with Sergio Aguero with devastating effect. If Tevez scores either the First or the Last goal of the game on Sunday, then Ladbrokes will refund all losing First Goalscorer bets. In the First Goalscorer market, which is being dominated by City players, Aguero is 3/1 favourites, while Tevez and Mario Balotelli are priced at 7/2, with Edin Dzeko back at 9/2. Online bookmaker Ladbrokes offer a free £50 bet for new customers who register an account with the special promotion code of FB50.
Man City v Southampton Betting Preview:
The reigning Premier League Champions look in pretty good shape ahead of the new season. How will their failure to capture Robin van Persie hurt them in the long run? The former Arsenal man went to their rivals Man Utd instead and could that shift the balance? City do have an abundance of forward power, from Sergio Aguero and Carlos Tevez down to Edin Dzeko. So they have options and they have the immense influence of David Silva behind them. The only summer signing that City have made has been Jack Rodwell from Everton, which suggests that they are pretty happy with the strength of their current squad. Robin van Persie would have made it stronger of course. Anyway, City do still look the most powerful side in the Premier League, and not only was their attacking power a real highlight of last season, but their success was all built around a very solid defence.
Southampton may find life in the Premier League a little difficult. They may well be the ones to struggle the most out of the three newly promoted side. While West Ham have experience and resources to call on, and Reading have had a massive injection of cash, Southampton have to rely on their more limited resources. They did splash out big for Burnley’s Jay Rodriguez and have added a couple of extra pieces. They will need Rodriguez to support Rickie Lambert and Billy Sharp in goal-getting duties. Will it be enough though to keep their heads above water? They couldn’t ask for a tougher opener than this to Premier League life this season, however, they can at least head to the Etihad Stadium with no pressure and no expectation on them. That means they may as well give things a good go. The Saints were very good in the Championship last season, scoring plenty and backed up with a solid defence. The influence of boss Nigel Adkins is going to be immense in driving the Saints forward. The Saints to have some attacking power, but they will likely be on the back foot for most of this game trying to keep City at bay.
