Koeman says City will be their biggest test yet

Saints manager Ronald Koeman has said that their away trip to The Etihad to face Manchester City will be the biggest test yet of their away form in the Premier League.

Southampton are yet to lose away from home this season in all competitions but will have to be on top form come this weekend if they are to continue their superb record.

The away form has included a 3-1 win at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea as well as a 1-1 with Liverpool at Anfield. Manchester City will however be their toughest test so far and will show up any faults in Southampton’s away performances.

It is not impossible for Southampton to get a result. West Ham have already beaten the Blues at The Etihad so Ronald Koeman will be sure to watch that game and see what West Ham did in order to get such an impressive result.

Speaking about this weekend’s clash, Koeman said this:

It’s a big test, because you play against a good team. Maybe the last few weeks not with the results what they expect, but also I think they have some problems with injuries of some key players.

It’s a nice challenge, because it’s a good team, with a lot of individual qualities, but we know we can beat big teams if we are on a good level and we have really good concentration from minute one in the game.

They’re a little bit struggling with injuries, some key players like [David] Silva, [Pablo] Zabaleta and some others, and that’s difficult because you have to manage all the games they have to play with a short number of players.

We had some good away games.

Maybe our performances and for sure our results away is better than at home.

Maybe we’re not so much under pressure to dominate the game, maybe we can wait a little bit more, we can play a little bit more defensively, but we know with City that you have to be on a good level. If not, you don’t have a lot of chances to have a good result.