One of the biggest gaps in the Premier League in financial, quality and in terms of points haul will be attempted to be bridged on Saturday, with Manchester City hosting Southampton in a battle of the established elite and the idealistic but possibly naive.
By Karl Matchett
Second and 19th respectively, City undefeated and Saints winless, the differences in the stories of their season so far are profound and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see many predict one of the bigger scores of the campaign.
And yet, there are similarities, or at least the attempt to have them. Saints’ style of play has cost them so many goals already this year, but playing out from the back and attempting to dominate matches is their method and it’s no secret where that style stems from. Saints and City, indeed, make up a third of the top six in the Premier League this year by average possession. By accurate passes per match, they are half the teams in the top four. Sadly for Southampton, however, look even marginally deeper at what they both do with all that time on the ball and the paths quickly diverge.
City have had the most touches in the opposition box (404), won the most corners (76), average the most shots on target (7.0) and have scored the most goals (19). Respectively in each of those categories, Saints rank 13th (195), 12th (41), 17th (3.8) and 19th (six). Erling Haaland alone has netted not far off double that tally, already on ten.
If that’s the mark of having spent hundreds of millions on the most creative, dominant and efficient final-third players in the game, Saints’ defensive numbers therefore show the folly in trying to play the same way all over the pitch without the players to do so: the second-highest xG conceded (17.3) shows they are not stopping chances against them, and the second-lowest save percentage (59%) of any goalkeeper in the league shows Aaron Ramsdale isn’t stopping those efforts going in. His cumulative goals prevented this term stands at 1.07, which isn’t going to move the needle if Saints continue to be as lax at the back.
Or, it might be argued, if they face Haaland on even a half-decent day.
The Norwegian tops the per 90 charts on total shots and those on target while of course doing so in goals, xG, non-penalty xG and touches in the box. Sometimes, football really is this simple: a bad defence has to try and stop an elite striker.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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