Saints’ best top-flight starts to a season

Since the inception of the Premier League, Saints have won on two occasions on the opening day of the campaign – against Coventry City in 1999 and West Bromwich Albion in 2013.

Prior to the Coventry success at Highfield Road, Saints were top-flight winners on the opening day against QPR, West Ham and Nottingham Forest in our look at the other success stories here.

Intriguingly, Saints have not had a home fixture on the first day of the season since making their return to the Premier League in 2012. 

Will they get a chance to record their first home win on the opening day of a Premier League season this time around?

Five of the best opening day top-flight matches:

2013/14 Premier League – Saturday 17th August 2013 – West Bromwich Albion (A) – Won 1-0 – Lambert (pen)

Rickie Lambert’s 89th-minute penalty opened Southampton’s account for the season on the first day of the new campaign.

Saints picked up all three points in their opening game of the 2013/14 Barclays Premier League season, a feat they had achieved only once in their 14 previous attempts, as they also ended a run of just one win against the Baggies in eight matches.

Lambert showed unerring confidence to convert from the spot for his 32nd consecutive successful penalty for Saints, to earn a respectable win away from home.

The spot kick arrived just before the allocation of stoppage time, after Luke Shaw was brought to ground by Youssouf Mulumbu in the dying embers of a fiercely competitive encounter, which Saints had edged with a solid performance behind a patient approach in attack that, in the end, reaped its reward.

1999/00 – Premier League – Saturday 7th August 1999 – Coventry (A) – Won 1-0 – Ostenstad

Egil Ostenstad (pictured getting the better of Marc Edworthy) beat the offside trap to score with a crisp shot from Matt Le Tissier’s assist in the 84th minute of the game.

It was a complete performance from the side in a match which was also noteworthy for Dean Richards’ debut. It proved to be Saints’ only win on the opening day to a Premier League season in 14 attempts before the 2013/14 success at West Bromwich Albion.

The 1999/2000 season saw Saints and Coventry both end the campaign on 44 points, with the Sky Blues edging Saints out to 14th by virtue of a better goal difference.

1988/89 – Division 1 – Saturday 27th August 1988 – West Ham United (H) – Won 4-0 – Rideout (2), Cockerill & Le Tissier

Paul Rideout scored twice against the Hammers

Manager Chris Nicholl handed Russell Osman and Paul Rideout their Saints debuts. Rideout put Saints in front, and Glenn Cockerill doubled that advantage going into half-time with a chip over Tom McAlister in the West Ham goal.

Rideout made it a day to remember even more fondly with his second of the game on the hour mark, and Matt Le Tissier then applied gloss with a late fourth after running clear of the defence to score against the Hammers, who went on to be relegated at the end of the season.

1986/87 – Division 1 – Saturday 23rd August 1986 – Queens Park Rangers (H) – Won 5-1 – Holmes, Wallace, Clarke (3)

Danny Wallace scores at The Dell against QPR

It looked like £400,000 well spent, as Colin Clarke paid instant returns on his move along the south coast from Bournemouth with a hat-trick on his full debut with Saints.

The Northern Ireland international struck the last three goals of this game, after Nick Holmes and Danny Wallace had put the hosts in control.

Martin Allen grabbed a consolation for the Rs with 20 minutes remaining. 

Despite this terrific start, Saints would end the campaign in mid-table, only ahead of a clutch of teams on goal difference.

1983/84 – Division 1 – Saturday 27th August 1983 – Nottingham Forest (A) – Won 1-0 – Wallace

Mick Mills in action for Saints at Forest

In what was to be a memorable season for Southampton, Lawrie McMenemy’s side got off to the perfect start with a narrow success at the City Ground.

Danny Wallace struck the winner on 66 minutes, firing in off the post with a low drive, but it was former Forest man Peter Shilton who earned the plaudits with a fine display to keep a clean sheet for the visitors, who would go on to finish runners-up in Division 1 that year.

The 2016/17 Premier League fixtures are released on Wednesday 15th June at 9m BST. Find out all the news first on our Twitter and Facebook pages, with full reaction also available on saintsfc.co.uk.