Second place meets worst place as Arsenal travel to St Mary’s to take on title contenders Southampton in an inconsequential match on Round 38 of the Premier League on Sunday. The Gunners will almost certainly secure a third consecutive top-flight silverware, while the hosts avoid becoming the worst team in Premier League history.

£105m man Declan Rice has a hamstring injury, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta urged him to let the influential midfielder ignore the request, and the England international once again saved the Gunners against Newcastle United. David Raya had a brilliant first half against the Magpies, but Arteta’s side woke up after the start of the second half – just as they did in the 2-2 draw with Liverpool – with Rice’s 19th direct goal of the season sealing a 1-0 win.

Arsenal ended a five-match losing streak in front of their own fans and now have a place in next season's Champions League, with a point to seal second place on Sunday, though they should be doing well anyway given their clear goal difference advantage. However, this silver medal is simply not enough for Arteta and his team next season, but they can at least try to end the current campaign the only way they know how, as a win on the final day is the strong suit of the visiting team.

In fact, the Gunners have won 23 finals-day matches in the Premier League era - more than any other club - and have not lost on the 38th matchday in two decades, the last defeat being to Birmingham City in the final game of the 2004-05 season. In stark contrast, Southampton fans have suffered almost all defeats this season, and if they lose another game this weekend, they will suffer their 30th top-flight defeat, which will set a new record for unwelcome Premier League defeats in a single season.

Not even the infamous Derby County side of 2007-08 lost as many as 30 games and were humiliated, but the Saints completed the task of surpassing Derby's 11-point aggregate against Manchester City two weeks ago, allowing them to walk out of the final with their heads held high.

As for Southampton, Simon Rask's side had the honour of being the last Premier League team to visit Goodison Park, but lost 0-2 to an emotional Everton side, giving Elimane Ndiaye two goals in the opening 45 minutes. Rask will now take charge of the touchline for the last time before handing the reins to his successor - Lens boss Will Steele is rumoured to be one of the leading candidates - but the former will not leave without working hard to orchestrate Southampton's third Premier League home win since the start of 2023.

The Saints can take solace from some positive head-to-head statistics, as all eight of their Premier League wins over Arsenal have come in front of their own fans - the most recent in April 2022 - but the Gunners beat Southampton 3-1 at the Emirates in October when Southampton had a shock lead.

Southampton predicted starting XI:

Ramsdale; Sugawara, Stephens, Wood; Bury, Smallbone, Towns, Wellington; Diblin, Fernandes; Sulaimana

Arsenal predicted starting XI:

Raya; White, Calafiori, Chivio, Tierney; Odegaard, Jorginho, Rice; Nvaneri, Merino, Martinelli