The date and location of the Premier League 2 playoff final has been confirmed and Manchester City will host Southampton at the Joie Stadium on Thursday 22 May, with a 19:15 BST kick off.
Both teams successfully navigated their way through to the final via the playoffs. Man City beat Manchester United in their semi-final, while Southampton edged past Crystal Palace in extra-time to book their final spot.
Despite Man City finishing the regular season top, the PL2 format means that the title is decided via a knockout playoff involving the top 16 teams.
This year's battle for the PL2 crown will see a new winner as Tottenham Hotspur lifted the trophy last season, beating Sunderland in the final, when neither Man City nor Southampton qualified for the post-season knockout stage.
Road to the final
Man City
Coached by Ben Wilkinson, son of former England manager Howard Wilkinson, Man City Under-21s have impressed throughout the season.
They topped the regular-season standings with 47 points from 20 matches, registering 15 wins, two draws and only three defeats.
City scored a competition-high 61 goals and also boasted the second-best defence, conceding just 23 times, only one more than the 22 of Brighton & Hove Albion.
Their squad is filled with standout performers.
Jahmai Simpson-Pusey, recently named PL2 Player of the Season, has been a consistent presence, while Divin Mubama leads the PL2 scoring charts with 15 goals.
City also have the talented Heskey brothers, Reigan and Jaden, sons of former England striker Emile Heskey.
Their playoff journey began with a hard-fought 2-1 extra-time win over Liverpool, with Mubama scoring both goals.
In the quarter-finals, City edged past Arsenal 3-2, again requiring extra-time. Mubama once more proved decisive, netting the winner in the 106th minute.
Wilkinson's side booked their place in the final with a 2-0 derby success over Man Utd thanks to another two goals from Mubama.
TV Info - Broadcasters
Southampton
Southampton have grown stronger as the playoffs progressed, after finishing seventh in the regular season (10 wins, four draws, six defeats).
Initially coached by Simon Rusk, the side is now led by Calum McFarlane, who stepped up from the Under-18s and is yet to taste defeat in charge of their PL2 team.
McFarlane previously worked as an assistant coach at City with the U18s and is familiar with some of the players his team are about to face.
Playing away will not faze Saints, who travel well and have lost only one of their last 13 PL2 matches on the road.
Southampton's playoff campaign began with a dramatic 5-3 extra-time win over Leicester City. After going 3-0 up, Saints conceded three times in five minutes, but responded with another two goals to advance.
The quarter-finals saw the return of Dominic Ballard, back from loan spells in League One with Blackpool and, most recently, Cambridge United.
The 20-year-old striker made an instant impact, scoring a hat-trick in Saints' 5-2 quarter-final win over Fulham.
Ballard struck again in the semi-final against Crystal Palace, opening the scoring in a tense contest that eventually went to extra-time.
It was Derrick Abu who secured Southampton's passage to the final, firing home a stunning long-range effort in extra time.
TV Info - Broadcasters
Abu's match-winner v Palace
How can I watch?
You can attend the final by buying tickets from Man City on the link here.
The match will be shown on Man City's website and app, which will require a subscription to CITY+.
Past PL2 champions
Neither side have been crowned PL2 champions under its current playoff format, although Man City claimed a hat-trick of PL2 Division 1 titles between 2021 and 2023.
Past Premier League 2 champions
2023/24 Tottenham Hotspur
Premier League 2 Division 1 winners
2012/13 Man Utd
2013/14 Chelsea
2014/15 Man Utd
2015/16 Man Utd
2016/17 Everton
2017/18 Arsenal
2018/19 Everton
2019/20 Chelsea
2020/21 Man City
2021/22 Man City
2022/23 Man City