Southampton will be looking to pull off a massive shock when they welcome rampant Manchester City to St. Mary's for the Quarter-Final of the Carabao Cup.
The Saints have been in terrible form of late, with the exception of cup competitions, where they’re somehow consistently progressing to the next round.
The rock-bottom Premier League side recently tasted rare victory in the FA Cup last weekend as the Saints beat Crystal Palace 2-1, although they have largely struggled this season.
New manager Nathan Jones has failed to turn around their fortunes since taking over the charge from Ralph Hasenhuttl prior to the World Cup and his underperforming team will now have to cope with City's in-form stars. Will facing the Cityzens spell the end of their EFL Cup run?
Meanwhile, the eight-time League Cup Champions Manchester City will aim to secure an emphatic win over when they travel to the south coast as Pep Guardiola and Co. target yet another silverware.
City seem to be on a rampage since returning to action following the World Cup hiatus, with their only stain being a 1-1 draw at home against Everton.
Pep Guardiola's side have reduced the gap to Arsenal in the Premier League to just five points and they enter this encounter off the back of a 4-0 annihilation of Chelsea in the FA Cup third round on Sunday.
Given the striking firepower they have in their locker-room and incredible squad depth, they come into this one as heavy favourites, and anything other than a comfortable passage to the semi-finals of their favourite competition would be a big surprise as they plan to lift the Carabao Cup for the seventh time in nine years at Wembley next month.
Southampton vs Manchester City confirmed line-ups
Southampton XI (5-3-2): Bazunu; Djenepo, Lyanco, Ćaleta-Car, Salisu, Walker-Peters; Diallo, Lavia, Ward-Prowse; Mara, Armstrong
Manchester City XI (4-3-3): Ortega; Cancelo, Walker, Laporte, Gomez; Phillips, Gundogan, Foden; Palmer, Grealish, Alvarez
Southampton vs Manchester City LIVE updates
Manchester City's upcoming matches
After fronting Southampton, The Sky Blues’ will travel to Old Trafford to compete in the spicy Manchester derby against resurrected city-rivals on 14th of January, followed by two quick-fire Premier League fixtures against Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers. Pep Guardiola’s side will then welcome league leaders Arsenal in the fourth round of the FA Cup.