Manchester City returned to winning ways after back-to-back defeats this afternoon as they cruised to a 3-1 victory over Southampton at St Mary's.
David Silva gave the visitors the lead after only 10 minutes, but they failed to add to their advantage and Southampton hit back through Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg eight minutes before the break.
However, an own goal from James Ward-Prowse and a header from Sergio Aguero in quick succession saw City go into the break with a two-goal lead, and there was no way back for Southampton, who ended the match with 10 men.
Find out how all of the action unfolded courtesy of Sports Mole's minute-by-minute updates below.
Incredibly, it is Southampton who come into this match as the form team after a dip in Man City's results which no-one saw coming either side of Christmas, and suddenly this one looks like a much more difficult proposition than it did just a few weeks ago for the champions. It is a must-win game for Pep Guardiola's side considering Liverpool's relentless form, so it will be very interesting to see what happens today.
Let's start with a look at the team news...
Well, Manchester City fans will rejoice at the sight of Fernandinho on the teamsheet, with their recent dip in form coinciding with his absence from the team. The Brazilian was not expected to be back in time for this one - particularly with Liverpool next up - but he returns from his hamstring injury to start here.
If anyone was in any doubt as to his importance then the last couple of games have really shown it, and it could be argued that Fernandinho is now the one player City cannot afford to lose.
The Spaniard comes back into the side after a hamstring problem, replacing fellow playmaker Kevin De Bruyne, who misses out entirely having only made his first league start of the season on Boxing Day.
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Gundogan and Sane are the other two players to drop out of the side for Fernandinho and Riyad Mahrez, with the likes of Walker, Otamendi and Jesus among the players to miss out once again today.
Raheem Sterling was the dangerman when these two sides met in November, though, scoring twice to take his tally up to six goals and four assists in his last 10 league games against the Saints.
That was one of seven goals Ings has scored for Southampton in the league this season, but it is Charlie Austin who leads the line for the Saints this afternoon.
It is very much a team sheet focused on keeping Man City at bay, then, with Ralph Hasenhuttl selecting what appears to be a 4-5-1 formation this afternoon.
Jack Stephens and Bednarek will play at centre-back with Target on the right, while in front of them there is a return for Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg after he missed the West Ham defeat through suspension.
It's another #PL debut for a #SaintsFC Academy graduate today!
Congratulations to 18-year-old defender Kayne Ramsay 👏 pic.twitter.com/63FRuVtSsZ— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) December 30, 2018
Mario Lemina does start having been a doubt due to a stomach issue, and he is joined in a defensive central midfield trio by Hojbjerg and Romeu, who will be trying to stifle City's creativity in the middle of the park.
The Saints have only won three matches all season - the second-lowest tally in the league behind basement club Huddersfield - but two of those have come in the four games under new boss Hasenhuttl, and one of them against Arsenal too.
A victory today would see them climb up to 16th - or 15th in the unlikely event that they win by three goals or more - but they could also end the day with only goal difference keeping them out of the relegation zone should they lose and Burnley beat West Ham.
The concern for the Saints will be that they are four places and four points worse off than they were at the halfway stage of last season too, although the performances under Hasenhuttl will have raised optimism that 2019 can bring more joy to the supporters.
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The Saints have also scored seven league goals in four games under their new boss, which is as many as they had managed in their previous 10 outings combined. Improvement is still needed defensively, though, with Southampton failing to keep a clean sheet in any of their last nine league games - a run which stretches back to a goalless draw with Newcastle in October.
The latest of those points came on Thursday when they took the lead against West Ham, but found themselves trailing within 10 minutes courtesy of a quickfire brace from Felipe Anderson.
Southampton's solitary home win of this campaign did come against Arsenal, although only three teams have amassed fewer home points over the course of the season so far.
It was also their only win in 10 matches against teams from the top half of the table so far this season, seven of which have ended in defeat.
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Crystal Palace and Leicester have shown that Man City are not invincible, inflicting back-to-back defeats on the champions to leave a huge dent in their hopes of retaining the title just a couple of weeks after being hailed as one of the best teams in the division's history.
Liverpool moved 10 points clear of the champions with their rout of Arsenal yesterday, and with the rampant Reds visiting Man City in their first game of 2019, it promises to be a crucial week or so for City's title hopes.
It has been some turnaround from the halfway stage of last season, when Man City were already 13 points clear at the top having remarkably dropped only two points during their opening 19 games. Pep Guardiola's side are 11 points worse off this time around, although their current tally of points would still have been enough to sit top of the table at the same stage of 2017-18.
Perhaps the best statistic to illustrate just how drastic a slump this has been for Man City is that they have now lost as many times in their last four league games as they had in their previous 70.
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Indeed, City have now gone nine consecutive games without a clean sheet across all competitions, while in the Premier League alone they have conceded in eight of their last nine outings - that after a run of six clean sheets in a row.
Guardiola's side come into this match with just one win inside normal time from their last five away outings too, and they could lose back-to-back matches on the road for the first time since October 2016.
Six of Guardiola's 11 Premier League defeats have also now come in the month of December, while they could become only the fifth team in Premier League history to lose three consecutive games after scoring the first goal.
The recent form of these two sides makes this one much more difficult to call than it would have been a week or so ago. However, Man City are too good for this run to go on for much longer, so we have to back the visitors to return to winning ways today.
SPORTS MOLE SAYS: Southampton 1-3 Man City
Hoedt scored an own goal to kick things off, and City were 3-0 ahead inside 18 minutes. Ings then pulled one back, but a brace from Sterling restored City's command of the game and Sane added the icing on the cake in stoppage time.
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That was a fourth successive win for City against Southampton - with an aggregate score of 12-2 during that time - and another victory today would hand them five in a row in this fixture for the first time.
Another defeat this afternoon would also see them suffer three consecutive home defeats to the Citizens for the first time since April 1994.
SOUTHAMPTON STARTING XI: McCarthy; Ramsay, Stephens, Bednarek, Targett; Ward-Prowse, Hojbjerg, Lemina, Romeu, Elyounoussi; Austin
MAN CITY STARTING XI: Ederson; Danilo, Kompany, Laporte, Zinchenko; Bernardo, Fernandinho, Silva; Sterling, Aguero, Mahrez
Mahrez pokes the ball through for Bernardo Silva, who reaches the byline before picking out his namesake David in the middle. From there it is a fairly simple finish for a player of his quality as he slots his effort past the keeper.
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"The perfect finish gives #MCFC the perfect start!"
Watch more @PremierLeague clips and highlights in the @SkySports app! Download it here:
iPhone: https://t.co/PaPRfbKlBu
Android: https://t.co/rtkyHBKCi5 pic.twitter.com/s3HS0gYzay— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 30, 2018
10 - Bernardo Silva has been directly involved in 10 goals in 19 Premier League apps this season (5 goals, 5 assists), equalling his total in 2017-18 in 35 games (6 goals, 4 assists). Progression.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 30, 2018
The hosts win the ball back high up the pitch and Hojbjerg breaks into the box before taking the ball past Kompany and lashing a bullet past a helpless Ederson into the top corner!
Sterling darts down the left channel before trying to pull the ball back into the area, but it flies off the boot of Ward-Prowse and past McCarthy, who cannot react in time.
It is poor defending as Aguero sneaks in between the two centre-backs to get on the end of Zinchenko's cross, planting a downward header past McCarthy, who perhaps could do better too.
The visitors were in control for much of the opening 45 minutes and deserved the lead given to them by David Silva, but Southampton then fought back and levelled things up. Two goals right at the end of the half have changed things, though, and it is a long way back for Southampton now.
The Saints finally began to grow into the game around the half-hour mark, and levelled things up with eight minutes to go until half time when Hojbjerg lashed his finish into the top scorer after Zinchenko had been caught in possession inside his own half.
HOJBJERG LEVELLER!
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 30, 2018
What a strike 😱😱😱
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Android: https://t.co/rtkyHBKCi5 pic.twitter.com/BZtN4hw2DI
Man City added a third just a couple of minutes later as Zinchenko atoned for his earlier error with a cross for Aguero, who planted his downward header past the keeper.
That Aguero header in the final action of the first half may prove to be the killer, though.
3 - Southampton have scored more own-goals than any other Premier League team this season. Unfortunate.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 30, 2018
9 - Sergio Aguero has scored five goals and assisted four more in his last nine Premier League games against Southampton. Menacing. pic.twitter.com/SYLA4PGZaA— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 30, 2018
There was a scare for the champions at one stage when Hojbjerg cancelled out David Silva's opener, but an own goal from James Ward-Prowse and Sergio Aguero header right at the end of the first half effectively secured the points.
Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for today's Premier League clash as Man City return to winning ways at Southampton. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to stick around for reaction too.
From me, though, it is goodbye for now!