Guardiola: Southampton success is ‘no surpise’
Pep Guardiola has heaped praise on Ralph Hasenhuttl and Southampton before they face off on Saturday at St Mary’s.
The Saints sit third in the Premier League table after 13 games. Their fantastic start to the new campaign has included seven wins, three draws and three defeats.
Hasenhuttl’s side have picked up impressive victories over Aston Villa and Everton. They have also earned admirable draws against Chelsea and Arsenal.
Cheeky tips both Man City and Arsenal to lose
Southampton are unbeaten in three Premier League games, which leaves them four points adrift of Liverpool at the top of the table.
Next up for Hasenhuttl’s men is Man City at home this Saturday. Guardiola takes his City side down to Southampton after consecutive draws in the league against Man United and West Brom.
During his pre-match press conference, Guardiola insisted that Southampton’s great start to the new season comes as no surprise:
“Southampton have an exceptional manager. I know him a little bit from my time in Germany. He was at many clubs, Leipzig played in a specific style.
“He has experience at the back and one of the best midfielders in the Premier League, [Oriol] Romeu. They have James Ward-Prowse, incredible player in set pieces.
“So no surprise in their success. Southampton for many, many years have been working well – so no surprise.”
So with Spurs looking to recover, Leeds looking for satisfaction, Southampton looking to keep going and Arsenal looking for just literally anything, you could call this a Big Weekend.