On his way to new records, Manchester City goalgetter Erling Haaland targets Southampton with Austria coach Ralph Hasenhüttl in the Premier League on Saturday. The Norwegian has 19 goals in 12 games this season and has become the first player to score a treble in three consecutive Premier League home games. City’s last competitive game without the 22-year-old scoring was the 4-0 win against Bournemouth on 13 August.
In the 5-0 win in the Champions League against FC Copenhagen on Wednesday, coach Josep Guardiola took his star off the pitch after his brace. “If it had been a close game he would have gone on. But so it was better to give him a break and already think about Southampton, a team we couldn’t beat last season,” said Guardiola.
The memory of the recent duels with ManCity give Southampton coach Hasenhüttl confidence. “We know which team we’re meeting, but I also know that we drew two against them last season,” explained the Styrian, emphasizing that the “Citizens” shouldn’t just be reduced to Haaland. “They have a lot more players to focus on. If you only look at Haaland, you won’t win the game.”
Southampton are just a point away from the top spot in 16th, having lost three in a row most recently. In the past few days, there has been speculation in the British media about an impending replacement of Austria’s first coach in the Premier League, also because the relationship with the team has broken down.
Arsenal meets Liverpool in the hit
Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta, on the other hand, is firmly in the saddle, whose “Gunners” lead the table one point ahead of Man City. The Londoners welcome runners-up Liverpool on Sunday – the “Reds” have only had two full successes from seven games this league season and are currently ninth in the table. Most recently, Jürgen Klopp’s team only managed two draws.
