Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhüttl has warned his players that they will face a ‘more dangerous’ Manchester City on Sunday, following their back-to-back Premier League defeats.
City have lost their grip at the top of the Premier League table in recent weeks and now sit seven points behind Liverpool, following successive losses to Crystal Palace and Leicester City.
Pep Guardiola will be desperate to get back to winning ways when he takes on the Saints, after looking visibly frustrated losing to the Foxes on Boxing Day. With the club due to take on title rivals Liverpool next week, the Cityzens will need to bank the points now before they start to feel the pressure.
Speaking ahead of his Saints side hosting City at St. Mary’s this weekend, Hasenhüttl revealed that he is expecting ‘the most difficult challenge possible’ from the defending champions. The Southampton boss said:
They can be (more dangerous). It’s not normal for Manchester City to lose two times in a row.
They also have a few injury problems but there is so much quality in this squad.
Maybe they lost a bit of self confidence after being in the lead and losing two times. We expect the most difficult challenge that is possible. If we want anything out of the game then we need the perfect performance.
