Southampton-Manchester City Preview

The Premier League career of an English football great comes to an end wearing Manchester City blue with the top of the table out of reach, but there's a prize on the line for the side that's trying to play spoiler.

Frank Lampard's nearly two-decade run comes to an end Sunday at the Etihad Stadium, but that won't stop Southampton from seeking a result that would qualify them for Europe for the first time since 2003-04.

Lampard made his Premier League debut back in 1996 as a 17-year-old for West Ham United before spending his club prime with Chelsea. He joined City (23-7-7) this season and is off to join MLS expansion side New York City FC this summer.

He's scored seven goals in 37 appearances in all competitions for the Citizens, helping them claim second place as a final line of what will be a lasting legacy in English football.

"I think Frank is one of the most important players in Premier League history," City manager Manuel Pellegrini told the club's official website. "His career is brilliant, he's a great professional and I think it's been a proud moment for this team to have him here playing for the season."

The Saints (18-6-13) figure to pay their respects before trying to take it to the 36-year-old and pad their top flight-record win total.

Southampton, whose 60 points are already four more than last season's previous Premier League high-water mark, enter Sunday assured a best finish of at worst seventh place, a point back of Tottenham Hotspur and two away from Liverpool.

The Saints' plus-23 goal differential isn't within reach of Spurs (plus-four) or the Reds (plus-nine), so a draw combined with a Tottenham loss would push Southampton into sixth. They'd finish fifth with a win combined with a draw or loss from both Liverpool and Tottenham. Either spot would earn them a Europa League berth.

"If we win on Sunday I think we will be sixth or fifth in the league," manager Ronald Koeman told the club's official website. "I think one of the other two teams will not win in difficult away games. I don't think they both will win, but maybe ours is the most difficult.

"But we beat Manchester United away, we had a draw with Chelsea. Why can't we win against Manchester City?"

The answer might be because the last meeting with City ended in a 3-0 defeat at St. Mary's on Nov. 30 with goals from Yaya Toure, Lampard and Gael Clichy. It was the only time this season the Saints, who are tied with a Chelsea for the league-low 31 goals against, have conceded three times or more. The meeting before that was a 4-1 City win at the Etihad on April 5, 2014.

Then again, if Sadio Mane and Shane Long can encore their collective five-goal output from their 6-1 home win over Aston Villa, the Saints might be just fine. The victory followed a four-match stretch that produced one point, giving such a promising season a bit of a sour taste at its end. Even so, jumping one of the teams would conclude an unlikely season that followed a summer of selling.

City, meanwhile, have won five straight matches after a stretch of six points from eight games likely cost them the league. Last Sunday's 4-2 win at Swansea City gave them a 16-4 aggregate on the winning streak. Sergio Aguero didn't score for a change, but he has eight goals in his last six, and his 25 for the season have virtually assured him the Golden Boot.

Clean sheets seem unlikely given each clubs' recent results, but both sides will be especially receptive to them with goalkeepers Joe Hart and Fraser Forster both in the running for the Golden Glove as part of a four-way tie with Swansea's Lukasz Fabianski and Liverpool's Simon Mignolet with 13 shutouts.

The end of Lampard's brief stay won't be the only change for the club. City are already looking toward next season with their push to bring on Liverpool's Raheem Sterling gathering steam, and the likelihood of Toure and fellow midfielder James Milner remaining at the Etihad Stadium is very much in question a season after winning the league.

"It goes without saying ending up without a trophy this year was the last thing we wanted," Vincent Kompany said. "But we will be doing everything possible to put that right next season."