Ward-Prowse curls the free-kick into the middle where Long cannot direct his header on target, with the game entering three minutes of additional time.
90'
Redmond fires a long pass forward to Austin, who holds the ball up well on the byline before being fouled by Laporte right in front of the linesman.
88'
City are set to leapfrog Tottenham to second in the table and move to seven points behind Liverpool. Southampton, meanwhile, look set to begin 2019 only above the relegation zone on goal difference.
86'
K. Walker enters the game and replaces Fernandinho.
Final change for Manchester City as Walker takes to the field for the final few minutes, with Fernandinho making way.
85'
P. Højbjerg goes off after a red card!
The day gets worse for Southampton as Hojbjerg is given his marching orders after a very poor lunging challenge on Fernandinho, which really gave the referee no choice.
84'
L. Sané enters the game and replaces R. Mahrez.
Second change for City sees Sane take the spot of Mahrez, providing fresh legs in attack.
83'
City are knocking the ball around patiently, knowing that their work is done and that the bigger battle is in a few days time against Liverpool.
81'
Mahrez is fed through and charges into the box, forcing a fine save from McCarthy. Had it not been for the Southampton stopper, the scoreline could have been embarassing.
80'
Sterling, relatively quiet in the first half, has been sublime since the break and has been central to everything positive that Guardiola's side have done.
Minute
Description
78'
Danilo gets yellow.
Danilo quickly concedes another free-kick for a foul on Redmond midway inside the City half and earns a yellow card.
77'
Kompany is penalised for holding Long in midfield and Southampton earn a free-kick, which provides them with an opportunity to build something in attack.
73'
J. Bednarek gets yellow.
Gabriel Jesus enters the game and replaces S. Agüero.
Bednarek also has his name taken after a desperate challenge on Aguero, hauling the City striker back from behind.
Guardiola, perhaps with the Liverpool game in mind, makes his first chance by replacing Aguero with Jesus.
72'
V. Kompany gets yellow.
Kompany clatters into a challenge on Elyounoussi on the halfway line and picks up his side's second booking of the match.
70'
Still not much from Southampton in the second half, which is a shame as they ended the first period showing plenty of threat. Conceding those two goals in the final minutes before the break as really taken the sting out of Hasenhuttl's side.
68'
S. Long enters the game and replaces C. Austin.
Third and final change for Southampton is an attacking one as Austin, on a yellow card, is replaced by Long.
67'
With a huge clash against Liverpool on the horizon, it will be interesting to see whether Guardiola brings some of his key players off in order to preserve them for that game.
63'
City may be on course for a victory but it has hardly been a performance that inspires confidence, especially given the football that title rivals Liverpool have shown during recent weeks.
61'
Past the hour mark at St. Mary's Stadium and it looks set to be another disappointing result for Southampton at home, who have won just two of 20 matches on home soil in 2018.
59'
Y. Valery enters the game and replaces Oriol Romeu.
Confirmation of Southampton's second change as Valery takes the spot of Romeu, which suggests that they will change their defensive shape.
58'
C. Austin gets yellow.
A very poor sliding challenge from Austin on Fernandinho sees the striker earn Southampton's first yellow card of the game.
57'
Southampton, just like the opening exchanges of the first period, have struggled to establish a foothold on the game. Unsurprisingly, Hasenhuttl is preparing another change.
55'
An unorthodox save from McCarthy as he saves Sterling's close-range effort with his head after Bernardo Silva poked a pass through to the winger.
54'
City continue to pile the pressure on but Southampton are showing some threat on the counter, although it has not quite fallen their way since the restart.
52'
Sterling wins City a free-kick in a wide position and David Silva floats a cross into the middle to the head of Laporte but he can only direct an effort over the top of the net.
50'
City are looking dangerous as they look to retain control of the game and it is working well for them. It would not be a surprise to see them extend their advantage.
48'
The frustration of the home fans has not reduced during the interval and there are groans after a number of misplaced passes in the opening few minutes of the second half.
46'
N. Redmond enters the game and replaces M. Lemina.
A change at the break for the Saints as Redmond enters the fray, taking the spot of Lemina.
Southampton get the second half underway and need a big response if they are to salvage anything from this game.
45' +3
S. Agüero has scored a goal for Manchester City! Assist by O. Zinchenko.
GOOOOOAL! 3-1! A real kick in the teeth for Southampton! Zinchenko, who was at fault for the Saints' goal, fires a superb cross into the middle where Aguero has found space and he heads at goal, where McCarthy gets a hand to the ball but cannot keep it out.
Brilliant work from Zinchenko, who has had a tough test defensively after his mistake for the Southampton goal and the challenge on Ward-Prowse that the hosts believe should have been a penalty.
HALF-TIME: SOUTHAMPTON 1-3 MANCHESTER CITY
45' +2
We have entered three minutes of additional time at the end of the first half.
45' +1
After appealing for a penalty moments ago, the home fans are making their thoughts clear with chants of '2-1 to the referee'. It was extremely unlucky for the Saints to concede there but it did not seem like there was enough in Zinchenko's challenge for the referee to point to the spot.
45'
J. Ward-Prowse is unfortunate, scores an own goal!
GOOOOOAL! 2-1 City! A goal from absolutely nothing! Sterling tries to fire a delivery across the face of goal from a wide position and it takes a huge deflection off of Ward-Prowse, with McCarthy unable to do anything about it.
41'
City continue to look dangerous in attack but their defensive performance has left a lot to be desired. They have taken far too many risks and have now been made to pay.
37'
P. Højbjerg has scored a goal for Southampton!
GOOOOOOOOOOAL! 1-1! Superb work from Hojbjerg as he snatches possession off Zinchenko and surges into the box before smashing a ferocious effort into the net that gives Ederson no chance.
32'
S. Agüero gets yellow.
Aguero is issued the first yellow card of the game after a clumsy challenge on Targett, conceding a free-kick in a position that allows Southampton to fire the ball into the middle.
31'
Southampton have at least shown some signs of life in the past few minutes but they need to provide some service to Austin, who has barely had anything to work with so far.
29'
Approaching the half hour mark in a game that has seen City dominate but Southampton can take some comfort in the fact that they only trail by one goal.
21'
City continue to pile pressure upon a Southampton defence that looks rather shaky but McCarthy has not had anything to do since picking the ball out of his net after David Silva opened the scoring.
19'
WIDE! A dangerous backpass to Ederson somehow leads to a Manchester City attack as Mahrez bursts forward from inside his own half before striking at goal from just outside the area but his effort whistles wide of the post.
17'
Far too easy in the opening exchanges for City and Southampton have barely managed to get the ball out of their own half.
13'
Exactly the sort of start Hasenhuttl will have wanted to avoid as City have had their own way and there is a real danger that the floodgates could burst open, with Guardiola's side going on to earn a comfortable victory.
10'
David Silva has scored a goal for Manchester City! Assist by Bernardo Silva.
Bernardo Silva has been very lively in the opening period and is already stretching the Southampton defence, who cannot keep a lid on his movement.
GOOOOOAL! 1-0 City! Easy as you like for City as Bernardo Silva and Mahrez exchange passes in a wide position before the former plays a low ball into the middle where David Silva tucks home his ninth goal of the season.
9'
A big chance wasted for Southampton as a long ball carves through the City defence with a fine pass to find Austin in space but he cannot get the ball under control and Ederson smothers possession.
7'
Southampton have barely seen the ball in the opening exchanges and are having to bide their time to keep Guardiola's side at bay. It looks set to be a long day for the home side.
4'
City have dominated the early exchanges and are already starting to ask questions of Southampton's defence, although McCarthy is yet to be tested.
2'
A strong start for Manchester City as Mahrez wins the first corner of the match, which is headed away at the near post by Southampton's defence.
1'
We are underway at St. Mary's Stadium, where Manchester City get the action started.
Hello and welcome to our LIVE coverage of the Premier League clash between Southampton and Manchester City, where both sides are looking to bounce back from defeats last time out.
Southampton's recent revival suffered a blip with a 2-1 defeat at the hands of West Ham on Thursday, while Manchester City suffered a shock defeat to Leicester City on Boxing Day and enter the game 10 points behind leaders Liverpool after the Reds thrashed Arsenal 5-1 yesterday.
Southampton XI (4-1-4-1): Alex McCarthy; Kayne Ramsey, Jan Bednarek, Jack Stephens, Matt Targett; Oriol Romeu; Mohamed Elyounoussi, Mario Lemina, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, James Ward-Prowse; Charlie Austin.
Southampton subs: Angus Gunn, Nathan Redmond, Maya Yoshida, Yan Valery, Danny Ings, Shane Long, Stuart Armstrong.
Manchester City XI (4-3-3): Ederson; Danilo, Vincent Kompany, Aymeric Laporte, Oleksandr Zinchenko; Bernardo Silva, Fernandinho, David Silva; Riyad Mahrez, Sergio Aguero, Riyad Mahrez.
Man City subs: Arijanet Muric, Kyle Walker, Leroy Sane, Nicolas Otamendi, Phil Foden, Gabriel Jesus, John Stones.
The two teams are heading onto the field ahead of their final match in 2018.
A strange game on the south coast where Manchester City came out of the blocks firing on all cylinders, taking the lead through Bernardo Silva, but then struggled to extend their advantage. Hojbjerg fired home an equaliser before Ward-Prowse was involved at both ends, having an appeal for a penalty turned down before diverting the ball into his own net, with Aguero then extending City's lead.
City are extremely fortunate to hold the advantage that they have as it has not been a great performance. Southampton had shown plenty of signs of promise prior to Ward-Prowse's own goal and need to rally early on in the second half to pull themselves back into the tie.
Thanks for joining our coverage today. Until next time, goodbye.
Southampton are outside the Premier League's relegation zone on goal difference alone after this defeat, with Burnley beating West Ham elsewhere, and things do not get any easier for Hasenhuttl's side as they travel to face Chelsea in a few days time. Meanwhile, Manchester City will begin preparations for their crucial top-of-the-table clash with Liverpool.
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