Guardiola not taking Saints for granted

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola says he is taking nothing for granted as his side prepare to face Southampton in the Carbao Cup on Tuesday night. City are the hot favourites to brush aside a Southampton side that were hammered 9-0 by Leicester City in the Premier League at St Mary’s on Friday night, but Guardiola is not counting on them suffering any kind of hangover.
The Saints face back-to-back trips to the Etihad Stadium in the Cup and the Premier League in the next five days, fixtures that would probably be far down their wishlist on the back of the 9-0 home loss.
Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side capitulated in driving rain after an early red card for Ryan Bertrand, with Jamie Vardy’s stoppage-time penalty equalling the Premier League record for the heaviest defeat.
But with both managers expected to make a number of changes, Guardiola will not be altering his plans based on that result and will treat it like any other game.
Wounded animals have proven to be dangerous in the past, and with their pride severely dented, there is every chance Southampton will put in a far more resilient performance at the Etihad tonight.
Guardiola is expecting some kind of response and says Hasenhuttl’s men cannot be taken lightly. “It’s not easy but they are incredible professionals,” he said when asked how Southampton might respond. “The manager will be sad for a moment, for one night, but after that they have to move forward. They will try to do their best, so I am not going to judge them on that or prepare to play against them based on what happened against Leicester. “It’s a little bit strange. Red card, first goal, and then every time (Leicester) arrive in the first minutes, goal, goal. “We know the team Leicester are. It was not easy. But it’s different competitions, the Carabao Cup and the Premier League. And we will try (to prepare) to face good teams.”
Guardiola also believes Saints are likely to get numbers behind the ball and try to make life difficult, something his side need to be prepared for.