Southampton

It is the record no team wants, but Southampton are currently contemplating the worst Premier League season.

Derby County's lowly 11 points from 38 games is the current benchmark, but with just nine from 27 so far, the Saints have the exact record as the Rams did at this stage during the 2007-08 season.

After a 4-0 defeat away at Chelsea on Tuesday night, Ivan Juric's side now have 11 games remaining to try and avoid equalling or beating Derby's record.

At least the two wins they have accrued avoids matching the East Midlands side's record for fewest victories (one) - but what other records are on the line?

With 19 goals scored and a record of 0.7 goals per game, they should avoid scoring the fewest goals as that stands at 20 by Derby in that same season and by Sheffield United in 2020-21.

If Saints maintain their average of 2.41 goals conceded per game, they should also avoid conceding the most goals in a season (104 by Sheffield United again at an average of 2.73 in 2023-24).

However, Southampton could still end the campaign with the most losses suffered. This record is shared by four teams at 29 and the Saints have tasted defeat on 22 occasions as it stands.

As the above graphic shows, Southampton do have a poorer goal difference than Derby had in 2007-08 at this stage so they are in contention to finish with the worst goal difference in a Premier League campaign - a record currently shared by the Rams and Sheffield United with -69.

With relegation looking more and more likely, avoiding witnessing a record-breaking season for the wrong reasons remains a hope for Southampton.

It was another defeat on the road for Southampton as Chelsea put four past Ivan Juric's side at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.

On BBC Radio Solent's Goin' Home With Adam And Jo podcast, they dissect the disappointing team performance and who would line-up in the Saints defence if all options were fit.

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Image source, Getty Images

We asked for your thoughts after Tuesday's Premier League game between Chelsea and Southampton.

Here are some of your comments:

Chelsea fans

Andy: Good performance from the whole team. Cole Palmer wasn't at his best but it was great to see the other players step up with goals and assists. Cole Palmer FC no more, but I still fully expect he will turn it on again soon - watch out Leicester! Good to see Moises Caicedo get a few minutes' rest and the young players gaining some minutes. Filip Jorgensen was also very good and it looked like a deliberate ploy to keep passing it to him to build his confidence and seems to have worked. Hopefully it is a springboard for the rest of the season.

Tim: Chelsea played with more passion and seem to have found their form again, but they still had a lot of chances that they wasted. Southampton were a good team to play after some poor results. If we can get a few key players back then we can make fourth spot. Then we need to find a new keeper and a more prolific centre-forward in the summer.

Kevin: This doesn't fool me. We did not play well, Southampton are just poor and if we do not improve quickly I cannot see us winning many more games. We simply do not create many scoring chances and we fail to put away the few we have. Frayed nerves until the end of season for us fans, I think!

Tony: Nice to get a win, but it was against a team completely out of their depth in the Premier League. It still feels as though Chelsea are happier going backwards and sideways, and are not moving the ball quickly enough. Hopefully the boys will take confidence from the win and we can start to threaten again.

Southampton fans

Paul: I can't see where our next points are coming from because of the way we are playing at this stage of the season. We sold the experienced players and brought in a group of youngsters that haven't gelled, however potentially talented they are. If we carry on selling the talent when we generate it, we're likely to drop through the leagues yet again. Depressing doesn't cover it.

Martin: Beaten before we started. That team would struggle in the Championship. With the exception of Aaron Ramsdale and Matheus Fernandes, no-one would get in any other Premier League team. Our manager also looks out of his depth.

Daniel: Sadly Ivan Juric cannot get it right either and the line-up seems wrong. Players like Will Smallbone are nowhere near this level. It looks like the players have given up any fight for him and we look completely clueless. Two of the best performances of the season came under Simon Rusk. We could give him a shot to scrape us at least three more points. It is just a dire situation for us to be in.

Matthew: We have no discernible style of play or gameplan. At least with Russell Martin there was a plan and structure, despite it not working perfectly. Then at least we had a chance that it might work, but a team with no plan has no chance. Coupled with the poor calibre of attacking players, we're doomed to keep conceding more goals and creating and fewer opportunities. Our strikers have more left feet than they do Premier League goals. Derby fans are preparing to happily brush off their embarrassing title, and soon.

Southampton midfielder Tyler Dibling will leave the club if they are relegated from the Premier League this season. (Football Insider), external

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Ivan Juric spoke to TNT Sports after Southampton's defeat against Chelsea: "The numbers say that with different styles of football with different coaches, the results are still the same. It is a big lesson for all of us to create something stronger and better than this.

"We have a lot of young players. They want to grow up. They are really good guys. Maybe they are playing in the Premier League for the first time. It is not easy. But I am not scared. If they work hard, we will keep going."

On whether he wants to stay at the club: "Yes. I know the situation is difficult and the Championship is real possibility. My idea was to come to England after many years in Italy. I have started to create something and I know I need to have patient. My idea was the same two months ago and it's still the same."

Joe Rindl
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

No team has ever reached this stage of a Premier League season with fewer points than Southampton's nine.

The south coast club are still one win or three draws away from overtaking Derby County's lowest Premier League points total record of 11 set in 2007-08.

They never looked like getting a result in their 4-0 loss against Chelsea, creating no big chances outside of a powerful Paul Onuachu first-half header which was well-saved by a diving Filip Jorgensen when the score was goalless.

Southampton, who trailed 3-0 at the break, were booed at half-time by some of their own supporters.

The team has lost nine of their 10 Premier League matches since Croatian manager Ivan Juric replaced Russell Martin - and that one result was a win against 18th-place Ipswich Town who are also struggling in a relegation battle.

It's difficult to find any positives.

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

Have your say on Chelsea's performance

What did you make of Southampton's display?

Come back to this page on Wednesday to find a selection of your replies

Four matches make up Tuesday's Premier League action and we will bring you every moment.

• Brighton v Bournemouth

• Crystal Palace v Aston Villa

• Wolves v Fulham

• Chelsea v Southampton (20:15)

All kick-off times 19:30 GMT unless stated

Follow all the action and reaction here

Ray Hunt
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

Another week goes by, and another embarrassing defeat to report. This time, an even heavier thumping. A 4-0 home loss to Brighton & Hove Albion.

That now makes eight consecutive home defeats. Only the fourth Premier League team in history with that unwanted feat.

We are continuing to leak goals at an alarming rate. In six of those eight losses, we have conceded at least three goals - making it a grand total now of 14 times we have let in three or more in a game.

It is going from bad to worse and it appears lessons are not being learned. There is no sign of fight, and not a clue at any identity we are trying to achieve.#

And yet, despite the misery, there is still one playing who is going above and beyond right now: Aaron Ramsdale. By far the best thing to come from this season.

It seems absurd that the goalkeeper is still your best-performing player in a match in which you concede four times. That's just how bad things are right now.

During the Brighton defeat, Ramsdale made eight brilliant saves. Without his heroics this game could have easily been eight or nine.

In last week's encounter with Bournemouth, he once again stood out as the best of a bad bunch, stopping four of the seven shots faced - even one from his own defence.

As a team, we are letting him down. If only the rest of the team had his fight.

He deserves much better than us and he will have his pick of Premier League teams next season.

Hopefully it reignites his England chances.

Find more from Ray Hunt at the In that Number podcast, external

Chelsea have looked very flat in recent weeks and ended up being beaten by Aston Villa on Saturday after taking the lead.

Enzo Maresca's side are desperate to get back to winning ways so this is the perfect game for them - you could not ask for more of an open goal at the moment than playing Southampton at home.

Saints will give Chelsea the chance to find their rhythm again and I don't see them keeping them out.

I must say every week how dismal this season has been for Southampton fans, and probably the only thing they have to look forward to at the moment is the prospect of a day out in Norwich next season when they are back in the Championship.

Sutton's prediction: 2-0

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Image source, Getty Images

Chelsea have lost two of their past three Premier League games against Southampton, as many defeats as in their previous 18 against them (W11 D5).

Millie Sian
BBC Sport journalist

Southampton boss Ivan Juric has been speaking to the media before Tuesday's Premier League game at Chelsea (kick-off 20:15 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• His squad will be largely unchanged, with nobody returning from injury. He confirmed Jan Bednarek will not be in contention after picking up a knock last time out: "It is nothing serious, but he will not play in this game. The scan didn't show anything - it is just fatigue."

• Flynn Downes "will play" after the pair managed to resolve their differences. The defensive midfielder will step in for Lesley Ugochukwu, who is unable to feature against his parent club.

• He added: "Flynn needs to do his job. I think everyone makes mistakes. I make mistakes and he makes mistakes. There is no problem. He knows I appreciate him as a player."

• After calling the Brighton performance a "disaster", he said "I don't know if I want to do anything differently" against Chelsea, adding: "You cannot change your way every time. I want to press, steal the ball high and play forward. I want us to try to be aggressive, but it has to be our style."

• On facing Enzo Maresca's side: "They lost their last game but there is a huge difference between us. They are an incredible team with incredible players. They have had two bad results but they are great, so we have to play well."

• He added: "It's not easy at the moment. It is much easier for them than it is for us because they have 20 great players. So if they are missing one player, they can just replace them - so it's a completely different situation to us."

• He admitted January signing Welington is still "acclimatising" to Premier League football after joining from Sao Paulo. He added: "I was a player, so I understand confidence and everything. When you come from another country, you haven't played here and you start to play immediately, then you have to acclimatise to this kind of football. It is much faster than in Brazil."

• When asked about Simon Rusk joining his first-team coaching staff on a permanent basis, he said: "He was with me from the beginning. From my first training session, he was always with me - so nothing has changed."

• With just three months left of the 2024-25 season, he spoke about his realistic ambitions: "We have to create something good for the future. Now is the moment to work hard, understand what we were missing and why the past few years in the Premier League were such a disaster. Now is the time to understand the problem and create a mentality that we can use in the long term."

• He speaks to new sporting director Johannes Spors "every day" and they are working together to rectify the "structural problem" at the club. He added: "Now is the moment - not later - to understand how to become a respectable Premier League team again."

Follow all of Monday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Image source, Getty Images

Simon Rusk has joined Ivan Juric's first-team coaching staff at Southampton on a full-time basis, with Calum McFarlane taking Rusk's role in charge of the club's under-21 side.

Rusk had a short spell in interim charge of the first team following the departure of previous boss Russell Martin in December.

McFarlane had previously been head coach of Saints' under-18 team.

Image source, Getty Images

We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Southampton and Brighton.

Here are some of your comments:

Saints fans

Maggie: It was woeful. Players seemed unsure of what their job was; floundering around sticking the odd leg in for a challenge and worst of all, not looking like they want to be there. I really hope that the management are addressing what must be a huge physiological burden/barrier for these guys who run onto the field every week knowing they have been written off before they even start. Start planning for the long term in the Championship now and get a quality manager in urgently. We cannot keep paying for watching dropped shoulders.

Sammy: Absolutely abysmal. The owners need to be held accountable for some major lacklustre decisions as we are a joke. Teams can turn up and look forward to a guaranteed three points away from home. Cameron Archer one of the worst forward players I have seen. 3-0 down and we put Will Smallbone on sums Southampton up!!!. Get us back to the Championship.

Ryan: Far, far too easy for Brighton to play against us. Defensively shocking and no attacking impetus either. Starting to sound like a broken record but it's just not good enough and I can't see us bouncing back up next year either. Need a complete reset next year -manager, players and coaches - to clear the deadwood and rot hanging over the club.

James: It's just become a complete embarrassment now. No desire or passion to win. What difference has the new manager made?

Brighton fans

Steve; Dominant, aggressive, incisive, against, let's face it, a poor opponent. Still, three points against a lower-ranked team is a pleasant turnaround. Confidence abounds, so keep the foot on the pedal and perhaps we can secure another European challenge.

Anton: The naysayers who asked "is it time to change the manager?" will be eating their words. Let's face it - we were more or less a new team a short while ago with a new manager. This will need time to settle, time for the team to understand each other's individual nuances, and the manager to play to those strengths. It's looking a little more sixth sense on the pitch now - and this was a great result. Perhaps give this team the benefit of longevity to become more settled and robust.

Mike; A confident and controlled performance that should have resulted in more than a four-goal return. It was like a knife through butter, or the soft central belly of the Southampton team on numerous occasions. Yankuba Minteh probably should have scored a hat-trick and left the pitch with the match ball. Consistency is the key now, ahead of a much stronger south-coast challenge on Tuesday night at Bournemouth.

Paul: Superb win, and the past three games have been a joy to watch. We fear no-one on this form. Eighth position is good, but we can do better. We are in control of our own destiny, and have the players to take us to the top. Happy days!

Image source, Getty Images

Southampton's Mateus Fernandes says the team must "fight more" after another heavy defeat on Saturday - this time a 4-0 home loss to Brighton.

Saints have now lost five matches by a three or more goals in the Premier League this season, only losing more in 1998-99 (nine), 2020-21 (six) and 2021-22 (six).

"It's a sad moment for us as a club," Fernandes told BBC Radio Solent's Adam Blackmore.

"We need to do the easy things not the hard things. We need to get more confidence and try to do better.

"When we did make mistakes they scored - one mistake, one goal. It's sad, it's a tough moment for us. We don't have much confidence.

"Confidence is very important in football. We need to do our best, fight more, rest well, eat well and prepare for the next game."

It is a quick turnaround for Ivan Juric's side, who travel to London to face a Chelsea side - who are themselves enduring a difficult run - on Tuesday.

"It's a big game for us. We are not happy - it's too many games we are losing," Fernandes added.

Listen to the full chat on the Southampton feed on BBC Sounds

West Ham United are interested in Southampton centre-back Taylor Harwood-Bellis. (Sun - subscription required), external

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Highlights and analysis from Saturday's seven Premier League fixtures, plus the best of the action from Friday's game between Leicester and Brentford.

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

Listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Arsenal 0-1 West Ham

• Aston Villa 2-1 Chelsea

Tim Oscroft
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Reuters

It is hard to see any way that Southampton can clamber to safety on the evidence of their 4-0 loss at home to Brighton, despite having 36 points to play for.

Lesley Ugochukwu's booking for a reckless challenge on Joao Pedro just under two minutes into the game set the tone, and Southampton captain Jan Bednarek did not make it beyond 12 minutes when he was forced off with an injury.

The home side did not have any touches of the ball in Brighton's penalty area in the first half, and only managed five after the break.

Kamaldeen Sulemana's shot after 69 minutes was their only attempt on target in the match, and the way Georginio Rutter and Kaoru Mitoma sliced through the defence to extend Brighton's lead epitomised the woes at St Mary's.

They have conceded three or more goals in home Premier League games on nine occasions this season, and visits to Chelsea and Liverpool loom in their next two outings.

The margin of defeat would have been even wider for Southampton had Ramsdale not denied Carlos Baleba and Yankuba Minteh with some last-ditch saves in the closing minutes as Saints threatened to fall apart completely.

Image source, Getty Images

Southampton manager Ivan Juric, speaking to BBC Match of the Day: "It was just a huge difference, there is nothing more to say, really from the beginning to the end there was an incredible difference between two teams. It was an awful game, a disaster and we played really bad."

On going man-for-man: "We wanted to play like this, it was not good today, I think the players wanted to do it but individually they were much better than us.

"Everything disappointed me today because we were no good before, later I think for me, my staff, the players it is a really bad moment and we did a really bad game."