Manchester City will move closer to a top-five Premier League finish with a win over relegated Southampton at St Mary's on Saturday afternoon, having won the first leg at the Etihad Stadium last October with Erling Haaland's goal, and will now be looking to complete their seventh Premier League double over the Saints.

Southampton suffered their 28th league defeat of the season when they lost 2-0 away to 19th-placed Leicester City last weekend, dooming them to finish bottom of the Premier League this season. The Saints are in danger of setting an unwelcome Premier League record as one more loss in their remaining three games would see them tie the record for most defeats in the 20-team top-flight.

Southampton need only one more point to avoid matching Derby County's record for the lowest points total set in the 2007-08 season. Southampton have conceded 82 Premier League goals this season, a record only three times before this season, 85 in 1952-53, 92 in 1966-67 and 83 in 1967-68. Caretaker manager Simon Rask will be looking to end the season on a positive note and is still searching for the right strategy to avoid a lead slipping away. In fact, the Saints have dropped points from a leading position more times than any other Premier League team this season. If they take the lead against Manchester City but fail to win, it will be the first time in the league that they have dropped more than 30 points from a leading position in a single season.

However, Southampton's success on Saturday may be challenging as they have only won one of their last 15 top-flight encounters with Manchester City - a narrow 1-0 home win in July 2020 under former manager Ralph Hasenhuttl. In stark contrast to the end of 2024, City are in high spirits, having gone nine games unbeaten in all competitions and winning their last four Premier League games, their longest winning streak of the season.

Last week, City beat Wolves 1-0 at the Etihad Stadium, with outgoing club legend Kevin De Bruyne scoring the only goal of the game, helping City take advantage of Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest dropping points, a result that lifted Guardiola's side to third in the standings. The race for Champions League qualification next season will be intense, but with three games left, City currently leads Newcastle United and Chelsea in fourth and fifth place by one point, and Nottingham Forest in sixth place by three points, and hopes of a runner-up finish in the turbulent 2024-25 season have emerged, with Guardiola's side now only three points behind Arsenal, who will face defending champions Liverpool this weekend.

Manchester City visit St Mary's looking to win consecutive away league games for the first time since August, and they will have a chance on Saturday as they are unbeaten in their last 29 Premier League games against bottom teams since a 2-1 loss to West Bromwich Albion in December 2008, and City have won their last 12 games in a row, with an aggregate score of 44-1. City have lost just three of their 25 Premier League encounters with Southampton since the 2004-05 season, but all three of those defeats came at St Mary's. Guardiola's side won their last away game 1-0 at the Etihad Stadium, and will be looking to keep consecutive clean sheets at home and away for the first time since the 2014-15 season.

Southampton predicted starting lineup:

Ramsdale; Harwood-Bellis, Bednarek, Stephens; Walker-Peters, Towns, Ugochukwu, Manning; Fernandes, Sulaimana; Onuachu

Manchester City predicted starting lineup:

Ederson; Nunez, Dias, Gwadiol, O'Leary; Gonzalez, Gundogan, Bernardo; Marmus, Haaland, Doku