Manchester City and Southampton will bring their Premier League seasons to a close when they meet at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

The Citizens have failed to defend their title in a disappointing campaign, while the Saints need three points to ensure European football.

Manchester City

Despite heading for a second-place finish in the league, it has been a relatively poor season for Manchester City, who have failed to win a trophy and are facing an uncertain summer ahead.

They came into the campaign with high hopes of winning the Premier League for a second consecutive season, and despite a patchy start, they found themselves level with Chelsea at the top of the table on New Year's Day.

However, that proved to be as good as it would get for them, as their form took a dip for the worse in January and enabled the Blues to open up a seven-point lead over them by the end of January, as Jose Mourinho's side eventually romped to the title.

It wasn't just their league form that suffered, as they were dumped out of the FA Cup in the fourth round by Middlesbrough, before succumbing to Barcelona in the last 16 of the Champions League.

Defeats to Crystal Palace and Manchester United in April saw them drop down to fourth place, but they have recovered in recent weeks and a five-game winning run has booked their spot in the group stages of next season's Champions League.

They have been particularly ruthless in front of goal in their previous two outings, securing a thumping 6-0 win over Queens Park Rangers to relegate the Londoners, before claiming a 4-2 victory over Swansea City last weekend.

Yaya Toure scored twice in that win over the Swans, but his future at the club remains uncertain, with reports suggesting that he may be on the verge of a switch to Inter Milan. James Milner's future is also in the balance, and with Frank Lampard set to join New York City, there could be a string of changes at the club over the summer.

There has also been plenty of speculation surrounding Manuel Pellegrini's position as manager, but he could be spared the sack given his achievements last season. Whoever is in charge next season will be expected to deliver silverware and make sure that the club are competitive on all fronts once again.

Recent form: LWWWWW

Southampton

While City have underachieved this season, the same cannot be said of Southampton, who suffered the loss of manager Mauricio Pochettino and a number of key players last summer.

There was huge unrest and some even tipped the Saints to be relegated, but Ronald Koeman was appointed as their new boss and he made a number of crucial signings to replace the likes of Adam Lallana and Luke Shaw, who had left for big-money fees.

The season didn't get off to the best of starts with a defeat to Liverpool and a goalless draw with West Bromwich Albion, but they quickly improved and went on to win eight of their next nine league games to move up to second place by the end of November.

The Saints then stayed in the hunt for a Champions League place until March, before their form trailed off and left them unable to secure a spot in the top four, but they could still earn a berth in next season's Europa League.

They are currently seventh in the table, and if Aston Villa lose in the FA Cup final to Arsenal, then it will be enough to secure a European place. However, should Villa win that match, then only the fifth- and sixth-placed teams will quality.

To be entirely sure of getting into the Europa League, Southampton need to beat Manchester City and hope that Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur fail to win their matches against Stoke City and Everton. They could even finish in sixth place if Tottenham lose and they pick up a point at the Etihad.

Regardless of whether they qualify for Europe, they have enjoyed a remarkable season and they should be full of confidence heading into the weekend after last week's 6-1 hammering of Aston Villa, which saw Sadio Mane score the fastest hat-trick in Premier League history.

Recent form: WLDLLW

Team News

Manchester City will be without Samir Nasri, who is suffering from groin problem, while Fernando is also missing.

Lampard is due to make his last appearance in the Premier League before jetting off to New York, and Toure could also be playing his final game for City.

Meanwhile, Morgan Schneiderlin has been ruled out for Southampton and Dusan Tadic is not expected to feature either.

Saints keeper Fraser Forster is also a long-term absentee, but Jay Rodriguez is back in training after spending a year out with a cruciate knee ligament injury.

Manchester City possible starting lineup:
Hart, Zabaleta, Demichelis, Mangala, Kolarov, Fernandinho, Milner, Toure, Lampard, Silva, Aguero

Southampton possible starting lineup:
Gazzaniga, Clyne, Fonte, Alderweireld, Bertrand, Wanyama, Davis, Ward-Prowse, Mane, Long, Pelle

Head To Head

Manchester City romped to a 3-0 victory when the teams met last November, with Toure, Lampard and Gael Clichy all finding the back of the net.

That result extended City's good recent run against the Saints and they have lost just one of the past eight meetings between the teams.

You have to go back to April 2004 for Southampton's only win at the Etihad, as a double from Kevin Phillips and a strike from James Beattie earned them a 3-1 win.

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We say: Manchester City 2-0 Southampton

Manchester City have underachieved this season, but they are ending strongly and have been scoring for fun recently. However, their opponents have suffered a dip in recent weeks, although they recovered to thrash Villa last weekend. It should be an open and entertaining game at the Etihad, but we feel that the Citizens will have too much quality for their opponents and we are tipping them to pick up all three points.