Steven Davis has admitted that Southampton are ready for a "tough game" when they travel to the Etihad Stadium to face Manchester City this weekend.

Manuel Pellegrini's side suffered a 4-1 defeat to Liverpool last weekend, dropping them to third in the Premier League table ahead of the visit of the Saints.

The Southampton midfielder told the club's website: "The demand from their fans is to win every game and they're coming off the back of a couple of bad results. They will be looking to put it right. It should be an entertaining game but we'll need to be at our best to get something. I'm confident we can go there and do that.

"I think they were the best side that we came up against [last season]]. They were up there with the best in the league in terms of performances against us, so we know what to expect. They are full of quality throughout the team.

"It's going to be a tough game. They're full of quality but it's a game for us to relish. You want to test yourself against the best and this is an opportunity to do that. We'll have to do our best and not make any errors, but hopefully we can do that and take something from the game."

Southampton sit eighth in the table following last week's loss to Stoke City.