Southampton braced for tough test at wounded Manchester City, says Claude Puel

“It’s difficult to defend against them, because they like to have good possession. I think City are playing a good game and had good style against Barcelona. For me, (there was) no big difference between the two teams,” Puel told reporters on Friday.

Puel tipped in-form striker Charlie Austin, who has scored seven goals in his last seven games, to earn a call-up to the England national team.

“I hope for him, he is an interesting player, he’s a real striker and it’s important to have a good striker on the team,” Puel added.

Shane Long is likely to miss the City match after sustaining a hamstring injury in the 1-0 loss to Inter Milan in the Europa League on Thursday.

Puel called on Southampton, who are eighth in the table, to play their own brand of football.

“It’s difficult with just two days between games. It’s important for us to recover and prepare well. City have had more time for recovery, but we must be ready,” he said.

“For us it is important to play our football, and I think we can have a good game at City.

The French manager will make a late call on the fitness of full backs Ryan Bertrand and Matt Targett.