Southampton welcome Manchester City to St. Mary's this weekend, as the away side look to get their league form back on track as the race for the top four hots up.

Claude Puel's men have little to play for from now until the end of the season, but will be wanting to continue their strong run of form.

City to take advantage?

Despite being the late kick-off on Saturday evening, City still play before rivals Manchester United, who take on league leaders Chelsea on Sunday afternoon.

This means a win for Pep Guardiola's men would move them seven points clear of the Red Devils and could potentially see them move above Liverpool into third place.

Manchester United are the only top five team that Man City must play before the season is out, giving them a great chance of landing a Champions League place.

Saints on a roll

Southampton have left it late to find their form this season, winning four of their last six games. The Saints have pulled well clear of relegation zone, after being threatened with the drop earlier in the campaign.

An early exit from Europe will be the low point of their season and despite their upturn in form, Southampton are unlikely to be playing in the Europa League next season.

Unlike City, Southampton must play five of the current top six teams, meaning points may be hard to come by in the next few weeks.

Team news

Guardiola has no fresh injury concerns, however Bacary Sagna will not be fit in time for the clash. Jesus Navas is likely to keep his place at right-back. John Stones and Aleksandar Kolarov played in the central defensive positions last week but may give way to Vincent Kompany or Nicolas Otamendi.

Gabriel Jesus is recovering at a faster rate than anticipated but is still on the sidelines. Leroy Sane is in a good vein of form and is likely to start alongside Sergio Aguero and Kevin De Bruyne.

For Southampton, Steven Davis, Manolo Gabbiadini and Sofiane Boufal may all be in line for a return. However, Oriol Romeu is still suspended.

Jeremy Pied is also in line for a return to action after a long lay-off.

History of the clash

Manchester City have a good record against the South Coast outfit, winning seven of their last 11 clashes, drawing two.

However, City have failed to beat the Saints in the last two meetings of the two sides. Their last win came in 2015, when De Bruyne, Kolarov and Fabian Delph were on the scoresheet in a 3-1 win.

The last time the clubs met at St. Mary's, Southampton ran out 4-2 winners, with Sadio Mane scoring a hat-trick.