Extraordinary coach

"We are the half-time champions!"

"Last season, we were not the half-time champions, but we won the championship in the end. This season, we will definitely win it."

In history, 60% to 70% of the Premier League teams that have won the half-time championship eventually won the season championship. This made the fans of Southampton very happy. Many fans said online that Southampton has definitely won the Premier League championship this season.

But when they said this, it naturally aroused the dissatisfaction of the fans of their competitors. Especially the fans of Manchester City.

"Is the half-time champion great? We were the half-time champions last season."

"The half-time champion is nothing. Only the one who laughs last is the real champion."

"Dare to say that the championship is definitely won, have you asked us Manchester City?"

"If you dare to say such a thing, you must first ask us if we agree. Next, we will tell you the answer. We don't agree."

The fans of Manchester City are very unhappy, but they also seem very confident.

"So what if you don't agree? Do you have the ability to beat us?"

"If you don't have the ability, then go home and cry! We beat you up last time at Etihad, and now you dare to yell at us. This time, at St. Mary's, you will lose even more miserably."

When they saw the dissatisfaction of Manchester City fans, Southampton fans directly laughed at Manchester City fans. With the last victory at Manchester City's home stadium, Southampton fans are very confident when facing them again.

But Manchester City fans immediately responded.

"Last time, it was because we had an incomplete lineup that we lost to you."

"It's different now, De Bruyne is back. The core of our team is back, and we will show you a different Manchester City team."

"This time, we will return all the humiliation we suffered last time at St. Mary's Stadium."

"Southampton, just wait for us, we will make the entire St. Mary's Stadium pale in comparison."

This is the first time that Manchester City fans have been so motivated against Southampton since that home loss.

And all this is because they said that De Bruyne has recovered from his injury.

Manchester City with and without De Bruyne are two different teams.

During De Bruyne's recovery, Manchester City always scored amazing scores against weak opponents, but once they met strong teams, they always lacked a little dominance. The previous defeat to Southampton and the recent defeat to Chelsea were all due to the lack of De Bruyne. Without De Bruyne, they always lacked something at critical moments.

Now De Bruyne has returned, and he has played in the last round. His return allowed Manchester City to successfully beat Leicester City away from home.

The key is that his return allowed Manchester City to regain the dominance that was easy to do. At the critical moment, De Bruyne also helped Manchester City break the deadlock first.

De Bruyne's performance after his return shows that he is in good shape. In this game, I believe his condition will only be better than that one.

This gives Manchester City fans enough confidence.

In addition to the fans, Manchester City was also encouraged by De Bruyne's return.

And Guardiola became more confident because of this. At the press conference held before the game, he said confidently:

"This is a game worth six points. We must win it anyway. I also believe we can win it this time!"

In addition to Guardiola, other members of the Manchester City team said that they would defeat Southampton this time. They want to take back what they lost before at the St. Mary's Stadium.

Facing Manchester City, whose morale and morale have been restored, the players of Southampton still seem very calm.

"Oh. De Bruyne is back. That's good."

"He was absent. The last victory at Etihad always made people feel that something was missing. Manchester City must be unwilling to lose."

"Then this time Manchester City is fully assembled, which is a bit challenging."

"This time, we will make Manchester City lose with conviction."

"We will let them know that we, Southampton, are the current Premier League overlords!"

These words from Southampton players really give people a feeling of special confidence. Even many people think these words are arrogant and domineering.

However, these words from the players are very useful to Southampton fans. They think that the current Southampton team should have such confidence. They are also qualified to say so.

If you are not convinced, just wait until the game is played until you are convinced.

Sun Yi is much more low-key than others.

"This Manchester City team is a little different from the last time we played. Now they are a complete Manchester City team. It may not be easy to defeat them easily. However, no matter who we meet, our goal will never change, that is victory. We will do our best to win."

Sun Yi's words not only expressed confidence, but also seemed relatively low-key. This also reduced the explosive smell between the two teams.

"Sun is still so low-key! But there is nothing we can do. Who told them that the Chinese are always so humble."

Many people think that Sun Yi's words are purely humble.

But in fact, Sun Yi really believes that this time Manchester City will be very difficult to defeat.

Others think that adding De Bruyne will be helpful, but they don't think it will bring about qualitative changes. But Sun Yi knows that a De Bruyne can really bring about qualitative improvement to a team.

With or without De Bruyne, the threat to Southampton is two different things.

Therefore, Sun Yi is very cautious in his attitude towards this game.

Of course, he will not criticize the players for their contempt for Manchester City before the game. The team's spirit cannot be hit. The players can be proud, as long as he, the coach of the team, remains objective and calm.

Strategically, let the players despise the opponent, and tactically he will pay attention to the opponent.

Therefore, Sun Yi constantly inspires the team's confidence in training, but he is very careful and cautious in specific tactics.

And because the rest time is too short, Sun Yi also consumed a huge amount of energy to simulate the game.

And because of the excessive consumption, he was unable to satisfy the feeling of being reunited after a short separation.

As Sun Yi's old partner, Dio quickly saw his true thoughts from Sun Yi's tactical arrangements.

"Sun, you take it very seriously! Last time you were a guest at Etihad, you were not so cautious."

"You finally figured it out."

"Does De Bruyne really need to make you so nervous? Is he that strong?"

"Yes. In my opinion, the two teams, Manchester City with him and without him. The game against Manchester City will definitely be more difficult than we imagined."

"Okay. If that's the case, then we will treat them with the highest treatment."

"Of course!"

~~~~~

After just one day of rest, Southampton welcomed Manchester City at St. Mary's Stadium.

Southampton vs. Manchester City.

This is a national derby-level battle.

It happened to be the Christmas holiday. So, St. Mary's Stadium was packed. Even if some seats were temporarily added, it still couldn't satisfy the enthusiastic fans.

St. Mary's Stadium, which can only accommodate a few 30,000 people, was once again complained by fans that it was too small.

The scarcity of seats also made it difficult to get tickets for this game. Even if you have money, you can't buy a ticket. Needless to say, the scalpers must have made a lot of money from this.

"Southampton, win!"

"Let's welcome our opponents with a warm goal. Today, we will kick your ass. You will leave crying. Then cry and tell your father that I will never come to St. Mary's Stadium again..."

In addition to shouting the slogan of winning, the Southampton fans at the scene also sang a song with a mocking taste.

In the singing, Southampton and Manchester City stepped onto the field together.

After entering the stadium, Sun Yi was also a little amused when he heard the fans singing like this. This kind of high-profile song is easy to attract black.

But he had no choice. Southampton's current strength does not allow Southampton fans to be low-key.

"Welcome to watch this top battle. Hello everyone, I am your good friend Martin Taylor."

"Hello everyone, I am your other good friend Allardyce."

In this game, the two once again partnered to comment on the Southampton game on the spot.

"Wow, did you hear that? The Southampton fans are singing," Martin Taylor said.

"This song seems to be a bit disrespectful of Manchester City!" Allardyce replied.

"Yes. It's quite mocking."

"But they have the qualifications. If Manchester City wants to save face, they must at least not lose this game."

"So, Allardyce, do you think Manchester City can do this in this game?"

"I think they can. There are two differences between this game and the last time the two teams played. One is that De Bruyne returned, and Manchester City is stronger than that time. The other is that Southampton is missing Pulisic and Golovin. The injuries of these two people have seriously weakened Southampton's strength. This situation has caused the strength of the two teams to increase and decrease."

"If this is the case, do you think Manchester City has a chance to win the game?"

"It is possible, but the probability should be small."

"Why?"

"Because Southampton still has C Ronaldo, Kaka, Balotelli, and Van Dijk. Southampton's core strength has not been damaged. In addition, Southampton still has the advantage of home court, so I think this game is very likely to be a draw."

Allardyce made a prediction about this game. But his prediction is not pleasing. Fans of both Southampton and Manchester City don't like this. They all think that their team must win, otherwise they can't accept it.

"Allardyce, many fans left messages saying that your prediction is shit." Martin Taylor said with some gloating.

"My prediction is professional."

"Some fans~ahem~ said that if you are really professional, you should go back to coach the team instead of being a commentator."

"I~that~have you got the match list?"

"I have."

"Then tell everyone about the starting lineups of both sides today."

"Okay." Martin Taylor really wanted Allardyce to continue to argue with the fans, because this is called interaction, and it also represents ratings. But Allardyce did this, so he could only turn to talk about the match list.

"Today, Manchester City's formation is still 433. Sane, Aguero, Mahrez, three forwards. De Bruyne, B. Sil, Fernandinho three midfielders. Defenders are Kompany, Laporte, Darlow and Walker. The goalkeeper is Ederson.

The substitutes are Stones, Jesus, David Silva, Otamendi, Sterling..."

"Wow, Manchester City is definitely playing with all its main players today. Whether it is the starters or the substitutes, they are all the best players in their team. Looking at Manchester City's lineup, they are definitely determined to win today!" Allardyce exclaimed.

Martin Taylor continued, "Next, let me take a look at the Southampton team. 4231 formation. Bartlotelli, Ronaldo, Kaka, Prowse, Paulinho, Romeu, Van Dijk..."

"Today's Southampton team also played with all the main players. It can be seen that they also have the idea of ​​winning the game."

"With such a lineup of both sides, this game will definitely be a fierce battle. Fans who are watching this game, you are blessed this time. This will definitely be a satisfying and exciting game."

"..."

At this time, Sun Yi had already shaken hands and talked with Guardiola on the sidelines.

"Finally we meet again. Sun. Last time you took the victory from our home court. This time, it's time to return it."

Unexpectedly, Guardiola made such a declaration when they met.

This is completely different from the last time at Etihad. Guardiola looked much more confident.

Sun Yi couldn't help but be alert in his heart. Guardiola is clearly fearless.

However, Sun Yi's face was relaxed. "Why not return it? We'll know after the game. Maybe we'll accept your generous gift."

"We're not here as guests today. We didn't bring any gifts."

"It doesn't matter. Three points are enough."

"..."

The two talked tit-for-tat for a while, and when they saw that neither of them could gain the upper hand, they separated.

Seeing Guardiola return to Manchester City, Sun Yi felt a little heavy in his heart.

Guardiola was very different today. Sun Yi clearly felt that the Guardiola he once feared was back.

"I'm afraid it's really hard to play today."

Later, after the players of both sides had an entrance ceremony, the game started with the referee's whistle.

In the coin toss, Manchester City got the kick-off ball.

As soon as the ball was kicked off, Manchester City launched an attack on Southampton without caring about the players' positions.

Aguero, Sane and Mahrez, the three of them rushed forward frantically at the first time.

Southampton didn't expect Manchester City, as a visiting team, to do this directly without even trying. They were caught off guard for a moment.

Fortunately, Van Dijk and Pavard did not panic, and they stepped forward to intercept after reacting.

This interfered with Manchester City's attack.

But they did not stop the ball, and Aguero and the other three used exquisite cooperation to finally form a shot at the top of the penalty area.

Fortunately, Aguero's final shot missed the goal.

"Wow~ I was scared to death. I thought we were going to be robbed at the beginning."

This attack by Manchester City really scared the entire Southampton team.

Sun Yi couldn't help but frowned.

"This is a show of power! They are not friendly!"