What will this mean for Hasenhuttl? Three big questions ahead of Saints vs Man City

On a slide of three consecutive defeats, Saints visit Pep Guardiola's rampant Manchester City on Saturday. Just to stay in the encounter - let alone take anything from the game - will require one of the performances of the season from Ralph Hasenhuttl and his team.

The Austrian can take confidence from his side’s two draws with City last season but this is somehow an even more difficult challenge. Second in the table, City are yet to lose this season, drawing two of their eight games while scoring a Premier League-high 29 goals.

For what it's worth, the Saints manager isn't showing any fear.

“We are going there and you can be sure that we are not scared when we go to Man City.

“This face we want to see and we want to show a brave team. Finally, hopefully, a successful one.”

Here are three big questions we'll be looking for answers to at the Etihad...

Saints pictured at the Etihad last season. Image: PA (Image: Saints pictured at the Etihad last season. Image: PA)

1. What kind of reaction will we see from Saints?

There’s no escaping the storylines that surround Saints’ trip to Manchester this weekend. After the recent run of losses, Hasenhuttl’s job is hanging on by a thread according to reports from The Athletic and The Telegraph.

The last time such a report came out, preceding Saints’ August clash with Leeds, it led to one of the more momentous occasions of the campaign. It’s hard to say fans saw the exact right reaction as a brace from Rodrigo gave Leeds a 2-0 second-half lead. Hasenhuttl’s tenure seemed as close to the precipice as it had ever been.

But the Austrian made a set of inspired substitutions and Saints came back to draw 2-2, earning their first point of the season, showing their manager support on the pitch, and kick-starting their campaign. While it was far from a perfect performance, that was certainly not the response of a team ‘downing tools’ or trying to get their manager sacked.

Kyle Walker-Peters celebrates making it 2-2 against Leeds. Image: Stuart Martin (Image: Kyle Walker-Peters celebrates making it 2-2 against Leeds. Image: Stuart Martin)

Six points followed in the next three games as Saints seemed to turn something of a corner. But that didn’t last as they embarked on the run they currently find themselves on. Once again, we are set to find out what this team is all about.

If the reports this week are to be believed then a collapse at Manchester City could spell the end of Hasenhuttl’s time at the club. Of course, any team can collapse against such an impressive and expensive side as Guardiola’s. But while the result may not tell us much about the state of play around the squad, the manner of the game should.

Hasenhuttl needs his team to show real backbone and stay in the game. They can’t let one goal spark a disaster. This is as stern a test as it gets and Saints have to stand tall and show what they’re made of. That might still end in defeat, but it doesn’t have to end in calamity.

2. How do you stop Erling Haaland?

The truth is, there might not be an answer to this question. And if there is, the answer might be: you don’t. Instead of the random drug testing that comes after games, Haaland should be tested to see if he’s even human at all.

19 goals in his first 11 competitive fixtures since arriving in the UK certainly supports the idea that he was bred in some sort of lab for elite centre-forwards. He’s only failed to find the net in one game so far this season and has hit hat-tricks in three consecutive home Premier League matches. He only played 45 minutes of City’s Champions League match against Copenhagen this week - but still scored twice.

If Saints are to defy the odds and get something out of this mammoth task, then they’re going to have to at the very least slow down the big Norwegian. They can take inspiration from Bournemouth who despite losing to City, remain the only team who have stopped Haaland from getting on the scoresheet. He did provide an assist as his side ran out comfortable 4-0 victors, but the point remains.

Erling Haaland leads the Premier League in goals this season. Image: PA (Image: Erling Haaland leads the Premier League in goals this season. Image: PA)

One tactic could be to man-mark Haaland. His movement is so refined that he always seems to be on the end of every loose ball to tap home. Having someone travel with him everywhere he goes could help mitigate this but it would of course take a hugely diligent performance to make this a success. One tiny mistake, one slip-up, one loss of concentration could very easily end with the ball in the back of the Saints goal. 

Man-marking Haaland would, in turn, open up space for City’s other threats but you can’t focus on every danger against a team with so many possible outlets, you have to prioritise.

The other potential tactic revolves around stopping the supply to Haaland. We’ve already seen that it only takes half a chance for the striker to hit paydirt but he’s been presented with a flurry of full chances thanks to the creative forces behind him. 

To shut down the supply to Haaland you have to shut down Kevin De Bruyne. But the issue is that even if you can curtail the Belgian’s brilliance, you still have to reckon with Bernardo Silva, Jack Grealish, Phil Foden, and even Joao Cancelo.

I’m tired just thinking about all that. It certainly won't be easy.

3. How will Saints fare in the biggest moments?

Heading into the ninth game of the 2022/23 campaign, Saints sit on seven points, just one clear of the relegation zone. It could be worse, with each of their two victories coming by one solitary goal. But it also could be a lot better, with four of five defeats coming by just one goal.

Saints have been beaten in four of their last five Premier League matches and each of those have come by one goal. Saints have been in every game they’ve played since the opening-day defeat to Spurs. But they haven’t been able to come out on top in the biggest moments and that has cost them dearly.

The 1-0 defeat to Manchester United left the Saints players crumpled on the ground at full-time as a flurry of late chances weren’t taken. At Wolves, Che Adams’ failed to convert from about one yard out with a golden chance to equalise. They then created very little in defeat to Aston Villa before once again, seeing a raft of late chances missed in the 2-1 loss to Everton.

Che Adams reacts after a miss against Everton. Image: Stuart Martin (Image: Che Adams reacts after a miss against Everton. Image: Stuart Martin)

“In the Premier League to score goals, it is not the easiest thing to do,” Hasenhuttl admitted, speaking ahead of the visit to Manchester City.

“And even if you create chances, like we have done in the past, there is still quality to defend in this area. And therefore you need exceptional moments and we couldn't create this moment in our last games enough.

“That can help to turn games around completely. A guy up front who scores a goal from nothing. This is what a lot of teams have.”

He added: “And in the end, we had this last season also, in our best moments we had players who scored goals from nothing. And the year before also. This season, we had not so many moments where we say okay, we scored too many goals.

“But even then, last week, we had scored the first goal and this must be sometimes enough to win a game. And the problem is that we are not able to have a clean sheet so far.

“This is also something what you need to see, we need to get the clean sheets also to argue about that. The way we defend after the first goal (versus Everton) was not Premier League.”

If Hasenhuttl is to have any chance of holding onto his job for the extended future then he’s going to need his players to step up in the biggest moments, when the games are being decided by the tightest of margins. Thus far they’ve failed to do so. That has to change.

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