Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has praised the "quality" of the Southampton team and believes that they will provide a "good test" for his players.

The two-time Premier League champions will travel to the south coast for Saturday's match in the hope of strengthening their position in the top four.

The club currently reside in the final Champions League spot, but their arch rivals Manchester United sit just four points behind.

With seven games left to play, every point counts for the North-West outfit, who ended a four-game winless run with a 3-1 triumph over Hull City last weekend.

"I think Southampton are making an exceptional season," BT Sport quotes Guardiola as saying. "They have, of course, a good manager and exceptional players in all positions. They have very good midfielders, all the strikers are so fast, they play the wingers inside, and all of them have good quality. The full-backs are guys who go up and down.

"They are a really, really good team. I was really impressed when they came here at the beginning of the season. Of course in that moment we came back from Barcelona, had played a lot of games in that period and we were tired, but of course they are a good team. It's a really good test for us."

The Saints are ninth in the table following a three-game unbeaten run.