Manchester City travel to the south coast to take on Southampton in Saturday's late kickoff in the Premier League, aiming to open up a gap on the chasing pack in the race for the top four.

The Citizens returned to winning ways last time out and now enter a crucial fortnight in their season, while their opponents are seeking a top-half finish for a fourth year in succession.

Southampton

It has been a strange first taste of football outside of his French homeland for softly-spoken Southampton boss Claude Puel, but one that appears to be ending on a positive note if the club's recent form is anything to go by.

Back-to-back wins and just the one defeat in six has lifted the Saints into the top half of the table, meaning that a fourth successive top-10 finish could well be achieved - no mean feat when focus was elsewhere during a key period of the season.

Puel's men endured a tough run from late December through to February, losing six of their seven league outings at a time when their EFL Cup run took priority, only ending with a cruel defeat to a Zlatan Ibrahimovic-inspired Manchester United at Wembley in the final.

Southampton have again had to adapt to life without a key player in 2016-17, this time following the departure of leading forward Sadio Mane to Liverpool last summer, and it looks as though their incredible record of season-on-season improvement will end at the eighth attempt.

The Saints have justifiably gained a reputation of being smart spenders, somehow jumping over the constant hurdles put in front of them to climb from League One and into the higher reaches of the top flight, though attaining a place in the top six - as was the case in Ronald Koeman's final season at the helm - looks to be well out of reach.

Thirteen points accrued from the last 18 on offer does suggest that Southampton are on course to chase down West Bromwich Albion in eighth place, though, sitting four points behind the side directly above them with a game in hand to play, largely thanks to last weekend's 1-0 triumph at The Hawthorns that keeps their season ticking along.

Puel has admitted in the past to being "frustrated" by the stop-start nature of his side's league campaign, playing just nine times between the turn of the year and the start of this month, though they finally have some momentum on their side and are now looking for a third win on the spin for the first time during the Frenchman's reign.

Achieving that this weekend will be a tough task, however, as Southampton do not exactly boast the most impressive of records against the division's heavyweight sides, failing to beat any of the current top six in seven attempts and taking just two points from a combined 21 in all.

Recent form in Premier League: WWLDWW
Recent form (all competitions): LWLDWW

Manchester City

With Pep Guardiola recently conceding that the title is now out of City's reach, confirming what many of us knew a couple of months back, all focus is now on winning the FA Cup and nailing down a spot in the division's top four.

The Champions League without a Guardiola team competing in it seems a strange thought, but that may well be the case next term should the Catalan not get his side fully back into top gear, with Arsenal and Manchester United waiting to pounce in sixth and fifth respectively.

All three of those sides in the running for fourth spot have struggled for form of late, though the Citizens did at least put an end to their recent four-game winless run last time out by overcoming strugglers Hull City 3-1 at the Etihad Stadium to remain in pole position.

Victory for Man City at St Mary's on Saturday will not only see them move seven points ahead of Man United, who will have two games in hand to play, but it will also bring up 19 wins for the season - as many as they managed in the entirety of 2015-16 under ex-boss Manuel Pellegrini.

A far from disastrous campaign for Guardiola on the whole, then, but one that will be considered a real disappointment should results not go his side's way in the next fortnight, with games against Arsenal and Man United to come in the FA Cup semis and Premier League.

The statistics may show that the two-time Prem winners are very tough to beat, particularly in recent months with just the one loss in their last 10, but they have drawn too many games - including the reverse fixture with Southampton - and may well be made to pay for it should they stutter in the final run-in.

It seems increasingly likely that Guardiola's second season in English football will begin with a big splurge in the summer, overhauling the deadwood on the periphery of the squad and a number of out-of-contract stars, while at the same time bringing in some proven quality.

One man whose future is currently up in the air is fan favourite Sergio Aguero, who has 10 goals in his last 10 outings and is on course for his most prolific campaign in terms of goals per game, though it remains to be seen whether Guardiola will move him on come the off-season.

Recent form in Premier League: WDDDLW
Recent form (all competitions): WLDDLW

Team News

One of the biggest gripes for Puel this season has been the loss of key players to injury, most recently losing January recruit Manolo Gabbiadini to an ankle problem, though the ex-Napoli marksman - four goals in four league outings since joining - may return this weekend.

Oriol Romeu will definitely sit this one out as he serves the second of his two-match ban, while Steven Davis is also touch-and-go so the hosts could again be stretched in terms of midfield resources.

City will likely be without skipper Vincent Kompany, meanwhile, who is nursing another minor injury problem that kept him out of the starting lineup for last weekend's meeting with Hull - Aleksandar Kolarov the likely deputy if that proves the case.

Guardiola's biggest decision comes between the sticks as he is yet to decide whether to stick with Claudio Bravo in goal or turn back to Wilfredo Caballero, with both keepers guilty of making errors this season.

Southampton possible starting lineup:
Foster; Soares, Stephens, Yoshida, Bertrand; Clasie, Hojbjerg; Ward-Prowse, Tadic, Redmond; Long

Manchester City possible starting lineup:
Bravo; Navas, Stones, Kompany, Clichy; Fernandinho; Sterling, De Bruyne, Silva, Sane; Aguero

Head To Head

Southampton won 4-2 in this corresponding fixture last season to end a run of four successive league defeats against Man City.

The Saints have actually lost just two of their past seven league meetings at St Mary's between these two sides, winning three and drawing two.

City have found the net in each of the last 11 meetings, though, including in the reverse encounter which finished 1-1 at the Etihad Stadium in October.

We say: Southampton 1-1 Manchester City

The Citizens hardly boast the most impressive of records at this ground and are also far from their best in terms of recent overall form, while Southampton appear to have found some momentum heading into the final stretch of the season. This one could come down to the fitness of Gabbiadini, who has been superb for the Saints since joining mid-season, and if he starts then the hosts will fancy claiming a point.