Manchester City have taken over the Premier League lead, but their eyes will be on a different prize Saturday when they take on Southampton in an FA Cup semifinal match at Wembley Stadium. The Citizens beat Arsenal 2-1 on Sunday and knocked off Burnley 1-0 on Wednesday to take the EPL lead, and they demolished Liverpool 4-0 in their FA Cup quarterfinal on April 4. Southampton are fourth in the Championship table and beat Arsenal 2-1 in their quarterfinal. The Saints haven’t lost since a 2-1 setback to Hull City on Jan. 17, going 16-4-0 in their past 20 in all competitions.
Saturday’s kickoff in London is set for 12:15 p.m. ET. Man City are the clear -450 favorites on the 90-minute money line (wager $450 to win $100) in the latest Manchester City vs. Southampton odds at DraftKings Sportsbook. The Saints are +1000 underdogs, a draw is priced at +600 and the total for match goals is 3.5 (Over +105, Under -130).
Check out the SportsLine Projection Model picks for more on the Premier League, the FA Cup and Manchester City vs. Southampton, and be sure to check out what SportsLine soccer expert Martin Green is betting for the match.
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After working in the sports betting industry for several years, Green became a professional sports writer and handicapper and has covered the game worldwide. Last year, Green was profitable in multiple areas on his soccer betting picks, including Euro qualifying (+6.30 units), EFL Cup (+4.47), FA Cup (+3.07) and Champions League (+3.05), among others. Anyone who follows him could be way up.
Here are Green’s best bets, prop bets, and analysis for Manchester City vs. Southampton on Saturday, April 25.
Manchester City vs. Southampton best bets
- Man City to win & Under 4.5 total goals (-133, 1 unit)
- Phil Foden to score or assist (-120, 0.5 units)
Man City should continue their relentless march toward the treble when they take on Southampton in the FA Cup semifinals on Saturday.
Pep Guardiola’s in-form team won the EFL Cup after beating Arsenal 2-0 at Wembley last month. They then moved to the top of the Premier League table courtesy of a 1-0 victory over Burnley on Wednesday night.
Man City are now the heavy favorites to win both the Premier League and the FA Cup this season. They’re on a five-game winning streak in all competitions, so they’re surging with momentum at a crucial time in the season and should make short work of Southampton in this match.
Star striker Erling Haaland has scored six times in his past six games and fired in the winning goal in City’s last two games. He could cause all sorts of problems for Southampton on Saturday.
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Can Southampton extend unbeaten streak?
Southampton have already beaten two Premier League teams en route to reaching the FA Cup semifinals this season. The Saints battled to an impressive 1-0 away win against Fulham in the Round of 16, then pulled off a shocking 2-1 victory over Arsenal in the quarterfinals.
Arsenal were top of the Premier League table at the time, nine points clear of Man City, so it was an impressive result. Southampton are in the Championship — the second tier of English soccer — so most pundits expected them to lose heavily in that game, but they were superb in every department.
The Saints are also building a great deal of momentum. They have nine wins, three draws and zero defeats in their last 12 league games, which has seen them move up to fourth in the Championship table.
Southampton still have an outside chance of securing automatic promotion to the Premier League next season, so they have a lot to play for in the final weeks of the season. The players should be full of confidence, as they’re on a 20-game unbeaten streak in all competitions — a run stretching back to mid-January.
However, this could be the end of the road for Southampton. They’re heavy underdogs and could be outclassed in this game, even if Man City rest key players.
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Reserve players like Foden could get chance to shine
Man City’s players aren’t showing any signs of fatigue right now. They were eliminated in the Champions League Round of 16, and that has given them an advantage over Arsenal in the Premier League title race.
They’ve been able to rest in midweek, whereas Arsenal had to play out a tense, two-legged Champions League quarterfinal clash with Sporting Lisbon.
Man City can only play a maximum of seven more games this season — five Premier League matches, plus this game against Southampton and a potential FA Cup final. That means Guardiola can afford to send out some of his star players for this clash at Wembley.
He may take the opportunity to rest a few attackers as the likes of Rayan Cherki, Antoine Semenyo and Jérémy Doku have played a lot in recent weeks. However, City should still have enough quality to put Southampton to the sword.
Players like Phil Foden, Rijani Reijnders, Savinho, Omar Marmoush and Nico González haven’t featured much lately. They’re all quality players and could be given a chance to impress the manager in this game.
City are unlikely to win by a huge margin, as the Saints are in fine form. Under 4.5 goals has paid off in Man City’s last 22 games, as they rarely blow their opponents away. They’ll also be keen to preserve their fitness for their crucial upcoming league games, so they may take a foot off the pedal in the second half. Yet they still have more than enough quality to grind out a comfortable win.
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