Southampton v Manchester City live stream, Saturday 22 January, 5.30pm GMT
Manchester City can increase their lead at the top of the Premier League table by beating Southampton on Saturday.
Pep Guardiola’s side extended their winning run to 12 games with a 1-0 victory over Chelsea last time out. Just like in the reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge back in September, City neutralised Chelsea’s attack and conceded very few chances. A fine Kevin De Bruyne strike in the 70th minute earned the champions all three points, and although Liverpool beat Brentford 3-0 a day later, City remain in a commanding position in the title race.
Following a four-match unbeaten run, Southampton lost 3-1 to Wolves last weekend. James Ward-Prowse scored a stunning free-kick for the visitors to Molineux, but the Saints were unable to prevent Bruno Lage’s side emerging triumphant.
Nevertheless, Southampton are in a healthy position as we approach the end of January. Ralph Hasenhuttl’s charges are 11 points clear of the drop zone with 17 matches left to play; a top-half finish is now more likely than relegation, which is a fine achievement given some tipped Southampton for the drop after a difficult summer.
Manchester City will have to make do without Nathan Ake, Cole Palmer, Liam Delap and Oleks Zinchenko, while Riyad Mahrez is representing Algeria at the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon. Ruben Dias is expected to return to the starting line-up after sitting out the victory over Chelsea, while Gabriel Jesus will also hope to be involved from the first whistle.
Southampton will be unable to call upon the services of Alex McCarthy, Tino Livramento and Will Smallbone, all of whom are injured. Mohamed Elyounoussi and Theo Walcott recently contracted Covid-19, while Moussa Djenepo is part of Mali’s squad at the Cup of Nations. Hasenhuttl is likely to stick with the 3-5-2 formation he has used in Southampton’s last few league matches.
Kick-off is at 5.30pm GMT on Saturday 22 January, and UK viewers can watch live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League. See below for international broadcast options.
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VPN guide
Use a VPN to watch Premier league football from outside your country
If you’re out of the country for a round of Premier League fixtures, then annoyingly your domestic on-demand services won’t work – the broadcaster knows where you are because of your IP address (boo!). You'll be blocked from watching it, which is not ideal if you’ve paid up for a subscription and still want to catch the action without resorting to illegal feeds you’ve found on Reddit.
But assistance is on hand. To get around that, all you have to do is get a Virtual Private Network (VPN), assuming it complies with your broadcaster’s T&Cs. A VPN creates a private connection between your device and t'internet, meaning the service can’t work out where you are and won't automatically block the service you've paid for. All the info going between is entirely encrypted – and that's a result.
There are plenty of good-value options out there, including:
UK TV rights
How to watch Premier League live streams for UK subscribers
Sky Sports and BT Sport are the two main players once again, but Amazon also have a slice of the pie in 2021/22.
US TV rights
How to watch Premier League live streams for US subscribers
NBC Sports Group are the Premier League rights holders, with the Peacock Premium streaming platform showing even more than the 175 games it aired last season, with other matches split between NBCSN channel, CNBC and the over-the-air NBC broadcast channel. If you pick up a fuboTV subscription for the games not on Peacock Premium, you'll be able to watch every game.
Head back to our VPN advice so you can take advantage when you're out of the country.
Canada TV rights
How to watch Premier League live streams for Canadian subscribers
DAZN subscribers can watch every single Premier League game in 2021/22 – and it gets better. After a one-month free trial, you'll only have to pay a rolling $20-a-month fee, or make it an annual subscription of $150.
The broadcaster also has all the rights to Champions League and Europa League games in Canada, too.
Want in while you're out of Canada? Scroll back up and check out the VPN offers above.
Australia TV rights
How to watch Premier League live streams for Australian subscribers
Optus Sport are offering every game of the Premier League season for just $14.99/month for non-subscribers, which you can get via a Fetch TV box and other friendly streaming devices.
To take advantage while you're not Down Under, follow the VPN advice towards the top of this page.
New Zealand TV rights
How to watch a Premier League live stream for New Zealand subscribers
Spark Sport are serving up all 380 games – plus various highlights and magazine shows throughout the week, as well as the Champions League – for $24.99 a month, after a seven-day free trial.
It's also available via web browsers, Apple/Android devices, Google Chromecast and some Samsung TVs, and Apple TV and Smart TV compatibility new for this season.
Check out our VPN deals to watch when you’re not in New Zealand.
