Phil Foden made his first appearance of the season in midweek against RB Leipzig but it's perhaps too soon to expect him to start. Aymeric Laporte and John Stones were both absent against Leipzig so Nathan Ake, who scored against Leipzig, is in with a shout of starting here. Kyle Walker, Ilkay Gundogan and Gabriel Jesus should all return to the starting XI on Saturday after substitute appearances on Wednesday. Jack Grealish has started every game for City so far this season so a rest is perhaps due at some point. Raheem Sterling, by contrast, has started just one of their five games. Shane Long returned to training on Wednesday after a bout of COVID-19 but Stuart Armstrong and Theo Walcott remain sidelined for the away side. Kyle Walker-Peters could rotate into the side at either right-back or left-back, while Jack Stephens and Mohammed Salisu appear Southampton's centre-back pairing of choice at the moment. Che Adams is pushing for a recall after dropping out of the side to face West Ham last week but given their task this weekend it wouldn't be a surprise if they continued with one striker up front. Nathan Tella could be a surprise starter for the away side this weekend.