Follow live coverage as Southampton face Manchester City today in the Premier League. Another top-flight season will be covered in full right here with The Independent, as reigning champions Manchester City look to make it an unprecedented five titles in a row come the end of 2024/25.
The likes of Arsenal and Liverpool will be chasing Pep Guardiola's side, but just as fascinating will be the race for Champions League places, with more teams than ever before having designs on top-four finishes. Chelsea remain big-spending, Manchester United's latest rebuild continues and both Tottenham and Newcastle will expect improvements this year - yet it was Aston Villa who snared fourth last term.
Meanwhile, it's Southampton, Leicester City and Ipswich Town who made it back to the elite after promotion last year and each will have hope they can make it more than a one-year stay. Follow the latest live action from the Premier League below:
Southampton FC 0 - 0 Manchester City FC
Southampton vs Manchester City
15:48
HALF-TIME: SOUTHAMPTON 0-0 MAN CITY
Southampton vs Manchester City
15:46
There will be two minutes of added time at the end of the first half at St. Mary’s.
Southampton vs Manchester City
15:44
CLOSE! More Southampton pressure! It's great work from Fernandes who lashes in a cross into the box but Sulemana can't get goalside of Dias to tap the ball past Ederson and into the Man City net.
Southampton vs Manchester City
15:43
Yellow Card Lesley Chimuanya Ugochukwu
Southampton vs Manchester City
15:43
SAVE! Dias tries his luck from range twice and eventually gets the second effort on target but it's a straightforward stop for Ramsdale. That was never going to trouble the former Arsenal goalkeeper...
Southampton vs Manchester City
15:42
SHOT! For all Man City's domination in this game, Southampton are proving a tough nut to crack. This time, Sulemana weaves his way into the City box before somehow managing to squeeze a shot through but it was never going to trouble Ederson. Good intent from the Saints.
Southampton vs Manchester City
15:39
Man City have dominated the first half, however, they don't have many chances to show for it. Southampton have all 11 bodies back defending resolutely and behind the ball which is proving difficult for City to overcome.
Southampton vs Manchester City
15:37
CHANCE! Man City are edging closer. This time, Foden stands a teasing ball up towards the back post but it's just over the head of Haaland who was closing in. That was inches away from being 1-0...
Southampton vs Manchester City
15:34
OVER! The lively De Bruyne drives into space but is brought down by two Southampton players just outside the area. The Belgian stands over the free-kick before lashing his effort just over Ramsdale's crossbar.
Southampton vs Manchester City
15:30
The visitors are zipping the ball nicely around the Southampton half but are getting frustrated by the lack of space in the final third. McAtee whips in a cross looking for Haaland but his delivery sails out of play to the relief of Ramsdale.
Southampton vs Manchester City
15:28
Southampton launch another attack as Dibling finds Fernandes just outside the City area. However, the Saints midfielder is eased off the ball before he can break into the box and the chance comes to nothing.
Southampton vs Manchester City
15:27
BIG CHANCE! Man City attack once more as Foden curls a lovely cross to the lively Gvardiol at the back post. The Croatian international heads it back across the face of goal but it's behind Haaland who was inches away from sweeping home.
Southampton vs Manchester City
15:25
Despite Man City dominating possession of the ball, Southampton have done well to keep Pep Guardiola's side from creating any clear goalscoring opportunities. For the first time in the match, Dibling gets his team forward before Sulemana wins a free-kick.
Southampton vs Manchester City
15:22
Another Man City attack nearly results in a chance. The visitors work the ball well into the Southampton penalty area and it nearly concludes with McAtee pulling the trigger but the ball is poked away before he can fire on goal.
Southampton vs Manchester City
15:20
Man City's domination in the opening 15 minutes has been reflected through the possession stats. Pep Guardiola's side have had 80.3% possession over the opening 15 minutes of this game while 60.7% of the action has been in the Southampton third over the last 15 minutes. Ominous.
Southampton vs Manchester City
15:18
It's been a relentless opening 15 minutes from Man City. At times, it has looked like a training session with the visitors knocking the ball around comfortably and the hosts struggling to get out of their own half.
Southampton vs Manchester City
15:16
CLOSE! It's nearly a horrible mix-up in the Southampton penalty box. Ramsdale cannons his wayward clearance off the back of his own teammate Bednarek and the ball just loops out of play! That would have summed up Southampton's season if that went in.
Southampton vs Manchester City
15:14
The visitors are just toying with their opponents in the opening minutes at St. Mary’s. It feels like a matter of when they take the lead, not if. Southampton are struggling to get out of their own half which will cause plenty of worry for the home fans.
Southampton vs Manchester City
15:12
INCHES AWAY! De Bruyne curls a delightful free-kick into the Southampton box and it looks destined to be swept home by Gvardiol but Downes is there to hook the ball away for a corner kick. That was close to being 1-0 for the Citizens.
Southampton vs Manchester City
15:09
More Man City pressure. This time, Dias clips the ball to Gvardiol at the back post but the Croatian can only head the ball into the grateful hands of Ramsdale. This is not the start, Simon Rusk would have wanted against the Citizens early on.
Southampton vs Manchester City
15:08
CHANCE! Man City have the first opening of the game. It's patient play from the visitors before Lewis lifts the ball into the box but it sails just over the head of McAtee who was closing in. It's been a bright start at St. Mary’s by Pep Guardiola's outfit.
Southampton vs Manchester City
15:06
Kevin De Bruyne, who will be departing Man City at the end of the season has started the game on the front foot. Against no side has the Belgian been directly involved in more Premier League goals than he has against Southampton (14 – four goals, 10 assists). Only Ryan Giggs (12 vs Man City and 12 vs Newcastle) and Cesc Fabregas (11 vs Tottenham) have more assists against an opponent in the competition than his 10 vs the Saints.
Southampton vs Manchester City
15:04
As expected, Man City are dominating possession in the opening few minutes with Southampton camped in their own half. The Saints have dropped more points from winning positions than any other team in the Premier League this season (28). If they lead but fail to win this match, it will be the first time they’ve lost 30+ points after going ahead in a single campaign in the competition.
Southampton vs Manchester City
15:01
We are underway at St Mary's Stadium.
Southampton vs Manchester City
15:00
The teams are in the tunnel and kick-off will commence shortly at St Mary's Stadium. Since the 2004-05 season, Man City have lost just three of their 25 Premier League meetings with Southampton (W17 D5), though all three of those defeats have come at St. Mary’s.
Southampton vs Manchester City
14:30
Pep Guardiola makes five changes to the Manchester City team who defeated Wolves last time out. Star striker Erling Haaland features for the first time after missing the last seven matches through injury and replaces Omar Marmoush. Nico O'Reilly, Jeremy Doku, Matheus Nunes and Ilkay Gundogan also come out of the team with Manuel Akanji, James McAtee, Phil Foden and Rico Lewis replacing the quartet. The Citizens have won their last four Premier League games, their joint-longest winning run of the season. They’re looking to win back-to-back away league games for the first time since August.
Southampton vs Manchester City
14:30
Simon Rusk has made three changes to the Southampton side that lost 2-0 to Leicester City last weekend. James Bree, Tyler Dibling and Welington come into the Saints starting XI in place of Kyle Walker-Peters, Ryan Manning and Ross Stewart. The hosts have conceded 82 Premier League goals this season. Only three times before have they conceded more in a single league campaign in their history – 85 in 1952-53, 92 in 1966-67 and 83 in 1967-68.
Southampton vs Manchester City
14:30
MAN CITY SUBS: Omar Marmoush, Jack Grealish, Jeremy Doku, Nico Gonzalez, Stefan Ortega, Ilkay Gundogan, Savinho, Matheus Nunes, Nico O'Reilly.
Southampton vs Manchester City
14:30
MAN CITY (4-2-3-1): Ederson; Josko Gvardiol, Ruben Dias, Manuel Akanji, Rico Lewis; Mateo Kovacic, Bernardo Silva; Phil Foden, Kevin De Bruyne, James McAtee; Erling Haaland.
Southampton vs Manchester City
14:30
SOUTHAMPTON SUBS: Alex McCarthy, Ryan Manning, Joe Aribo, Will Smallbone, Ross Stewart, Nathan Wood, Yukinari Sugawara, Cameron Archer, Paul Onuachu.
Southampton vs Manchester City
14:30
SOUTHAMPTON (3-4-2-1): Aaron Ramsdale; Jack Stephens, Jan Bednarek, Taylor Harwood-Bellis; Welington, Lesley Ugochukwu, Flynn Downes, James Bree; Kamaldeen Sulemana, Mateus Fernandes; Tyler Dibling.
Southampton vs Manchester City
14:30
Meanwhile, Manchester City head to Southampton aiming to take another giant step towards next season’s Champions League. Four wins on the bounce for Pep Guardiola's side means they currently occupy third place in the Premier League table with just three games remaining. The Citizens’ late season surge combined with Arsenal’s recent struggles has many tipping the former Champions for a second-place finish. In their most recent fixture, the visitors defeated Vítor Pereira's high-flying Wolves 1-0 thanks to Kevin De Bruyne’s strike.
Southampton vs Manchester City
14:30
Hosts Southampton head into today’s clash against Manchester City in serious danger of setting an unwanted Premier League record. One more defeat in their remaining three fixtures would see them equal the highest number of losses (29) in a 20-team top-flight campaign (Sunderland in 2005-06, Derby County in 2007-08 and Sheffield United in 2020-21). However, Simon Rusk’s Saints also need just one point to avoid equalling Derby’s lowest-ever points total (11) from 2007-08. The home side missed a golden chance to steer clear of the unwanted record when they visited Leicester City last week, but fell to a 2-0 defeat at the King Power Stadium.
Southampton vs Manchester City
14:30
Hello and welcome to live coverage of this Premier League encounter between Southampton and Manchester City at St Mary's Stadium.
Southampton vs Manchester City
13:00
Follow all the goals and latest action from the Premier League here with The Independent. Team news and line-ups coming up shortly…
