Meet the opposition | Southampton
As Swansea City prepare to take on Southampton at St Mary's on Saturday, we take a closer look at the Saints.
What's their story?
Formed in 1885, Southampton have spent the majority of their history in the top division of English Football, with their best league finish coming in the 1983-84 season as they finished second, just three points behind champions Liverpool.
Following relegation from the Premier League in the 2004-05 season, the Saints spent seven seasons outside of the top flight, including two years in League One, before gaining promotion back to the Premier League in 2011-12.
They spent 11 seasons in the elite division – securing Europa League qualification on two occasions and finishing as high as sixth in that time – before being relegated at the end of the 2022-23 season.
But the Saints quickly returned to the Premier League courtesy of their play-off final success over Leeds in 2024, only to be relegated once again at the end of last season.
How's their form?
The Saints have only picked up two wins in their Championship campaign so far. They claimed a dramatic late win against Wrexham on the opening day of the season, and also came away with three points after a 2-1 victory over Sheffield United at Bramall Lane in September.
Southampton have drawn five games, and lost two, currently sitting 17th in the table.
Who's the gaffer?
Will Still. Southampton announced the appointment of Still as their new men’s first-team manager in May 2025.
Still agreed a three-year contract at St Mary’s, and took charge of the team from the start of pre-season.
Aged 32 at the time of his arrival, he has carved out a reputation as one of the brightest young coaching talents in Europe, with his standing having been shaped across his impressive time working in Belgium and France.
Still most recently guided RC Lens to an eighth-place finish in France’s top flight in 2024-25, a spell that followed a successful two years in the same league with Reims, where he became the youngest manager in Europe’s top five leagues and also shot to prominence after guiding the team to a record-breaking 19 games unbeaten in the 2022-23 campaign.
Prior to his time in France, Still worked as a coach in Belgium – the country of his birth to English parents – with Lierse and Beerschot.
Who's the captain?
Jack Stephens is club captain for the Saints. Stephens came through the ranks at Plymouth before joining the Saints academy in 2011.
He made his first-team debut against Coventry in the FA Cup in 2012 and stepped up to the first-team squad ahead of their return to the Premier League in the summer of that year.
Stephens had loan spells with Swindon, Middlesbrough and Coventry before firmly establishing himself at Saints, helping them reach the Carabao Cup final in 2017.
He spent the 2022-23 season on loan at Bournemouth before signing a new contract at Saints the following summer and returning from injury to lead them to play-off final glory before again being sidelined.
Saints' longest serving player, Stephens helped the club to promotion during the 23-24 season, playing every minute of their play-off campaign.
Who are the key men?
Adam Armstrong
Striker Adam Armstrong was in superb form during the Saints' play-off winning 2023-24 season, scoring 24 goals in all competitions, including the winner against Leeds United in the play-off final at Wembley.
Armstrong came through the ranks at Newcastle United to feature for the first team, also having loan spells with Coventry, Barnsley, Bolton and Blackburn, helping the latter secure promotion to the Championship.
He went on to join Rovers in a full-time deal and, in total, scored 60 goals in 160 games before moving to Southampton in 2021.
So far this campaign, the 28-year-old has scored three goals in nine Championship appearances.
Ryan Manning
Former Swans defender Ryan Manning has made a bright start to the new campaign.
During the 2022-23 season, he contributed 15 goal involvements in 43 Championship games for the Swans, leading the league for assists and earning him the club’s supporters' player of the season award, before moving to Saints at the end of his contract.
Manning made more than 40 appearances in Saints' promotion-winning campaign in his debut season with the club, and finally made his Premier League debut in October 2024, aged 28.
The full-back or wing-back has made 12 appearances for the Saints this season, scoring two goals, one of which includes the free-kick against Wrexham on the opening day of the 2025-26 campaign.
Shea Charles
Shea Charles signed for the Saints in the summer of 2023 from Manchester City. His first full season in senior football saw the youngster make 38 appearances in all competitions, helping Saints bounce back to the Premier League during the 2023-24 campaign.
He then gained further experience in the Championship with a loan move to Sheffield Wednesday, racking up 44 games for the Owls, for whom he won the Player of the Year award at the end of last term.
The 21-year-old has started all nine Championship fixtures this season, and has scored one goal in their Carabao Cup tie against Liverpool, which ended 2-1 to the Reds.