Has Nathan Jones gotten in over his head at Southampton FC? Maybe, as he really stepped into an extremely difficult situation when assumed the reins of the club. This could be a task that is bigger than him, and probably bigger than most managers. Up next is a date with Manchester City, and that will be anything but a proverbial “get right” game.
Jones has already confirmed that Armel Bella-Kotchap and Stuart Armstrong will miss the League Cup quarterfinal clash, with the duo having just also missed out on the FA Cup 3rd round triumph over Crystal Palace.
Man City at Southampton FC EFL Cup Quarterfinal FYIs
Kickoff: Wed. Jan. 11, 8pm, St. Mary’s
Man City: Team News Starting XI Prediction
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
Key Stat: Southampton has only beaten City once, in 15 tries, during the Pep Guardiola era (3D,11L)
Odds: Southampton win: 12/1, Draw: 11/2, Manchester City win: 1/5
Series History: Southampton wins: 32, Draws: 27, Manchester City wins: 40
Jones gave an update on one of the two players who are ruled out:
“So we’ll be able to call on one or two of those but in terms of Stuart Armstrong, Stuart has been playing through injury for a while so we’ve only been able to get 15/20 minutes out of him. “But to be fair, we can’t keep doing that. It puts pressure on Stuart and puts pressure on me to bring him on so it’s something we’re not going to do anymore.”
Meanwhile new signing Mislav Orisic could debut here, but perhaps in just a limited capacity.
Prediction: Manchester City 3, Southampton FC 0
Sorry, just not bold enough to call a big upset here.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now. Follow the website on Twitter and Instagram.