Southampton’s Potential Premier League Exit Could Happy This Weekend

Football can be a cruel mistress, can’t it? One minute you’re celebrating promotion, the next you’re staring down the barrel of relegation. For Southampton fans, this season has been particularly tough to stomach. The Saints have struggled to find their footing in England’s top flight, and now they’re facing the very real possibility of dropping down to the Championship this weekend. Talk about a Sunday roast nobody wants to attend!

If you’ve been following the Premier League this season, you’ll know Southampton have been rooted to the bottom of the table for what feels like forever. Their situation has gone from bad to worse, and now they’re on the verge of making some unwanted history. Let’s dive into exactly how Southampton could be relegated this Sunday, what that would mean for the club, and whether there’s any glimmer of hope for the Saints faithful.

Understanding Premier League Relegation

Let’s start with the basics for those who might be new to the beautiful game or just need a quick refresher. The Premier League’s relegation system is pretty straightforward, but it can be heartbreaking for the clubs involved.

In the Premier League, the bottom three teams at the end of the season wave goodbye to the glamour and riches of England’s top division. It’s a bit like being told you can’t sit at the cool kids’ table anymore – except this table comes with massive TV deals and global exposure. These unfortunate three clubs drop down to the Championship, which is England’s second tier of professional football.

While relegation means saying farewell to matches against the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool, and Arsenal, it also means welcoming three fresh-faced teams to the Premier League. These newcomers are the two clubs that finish at the top of the Championship table, plus the winner of the end-of-season playoffs (which, by the way, are some of the most nail-biting matches you’ll ever watch).

For the relegated clubs, it’s not just about losing prestige – there are serious financial implications too. The difference in TV revenue alone between the Premier League and Championship is enough to make your eyes water. We’re talking tens of millions of pounds here, which is why clubs fight tooth and nail to avoid the drop.

Southampton’s Current Predicament

So where do Southampton stand right now? In a word: precarious. In two words: extremely precarious. The Saints currently occupy 20th position in the table – that’s dead last, for those keeping score at home. With just a handful of matches remaining in the season, they’ve got a mountain to climb that would make even the most seasoned alpinist think twice.

As it stands, Southampton have accumulated a mere 10 points from their campaign so far. To put that into perspective, that’s fewer points than some teams pick up in a good month. The gap between them and safety (17th place, currently occupied by Wolverhampton Wanderers) is a whopping 22 points. That’s not just a gap – it’s a chasm.

With eight matches left to play, Southampton have a maximum of 24 points still available to them. That’s if they somehow transform into prime Barcelona and win every single one of their remaining fixtures – something that seems about as likely as me winning the lottery without buying a ticket.

The situation is so dire that Southampton manager Ruben Juric has publicly acknowledged the team’s struggles, expressing his desire not to be remembered as “the worst team in the history of Premier League.” That’s the kind of statement that makes you wince as a fan, doesn’t it?

How Relegation Could Happen This Sunday

This Sunday could be the day when Southampton’s fate is officially sealed, and it all hinges on their away match against Tottenham Hotspur. Now, trips to Tottenham aren’t exactly known for being relaxing days out at the best of times, but this one carries extra weight.

Here’s the simple math: if Southampton lose to Spurs, they’re relegated. Full stop. End of story. That’s because a defeat would leave them 22 points behind 17th place with only 21 points left to play for in their remaining seven matches. Even if they were to win every single game after that (again, about as likely as finding a unicorn in your garden), they couldn’t accumulate enough points to climb out of the bottom three.

It’s worth noting that Wolves did themselves (and certainly not Southampton) a huge favor by beating another relegation-threatened team, Ipswich Town, 2-1 on Saturday. That victory pushed the gap between safety and Southampton to those critical 22 points.

For Southampton to extend their Premier League survival hopes beyond this weekend, they need to avoid defeat at Tottenham. A draw would keep them mathematically in the fight, though their situation would remain dire. A win? Well, that would be something to celebrate, even if it only delays the inevitable by a week or two.

What If Southampton Avoid Defeat at Tottenham?

Let’s say Southampton manage to scrape a draw against Tottenham – what then? Well, they’d live to fight another day, but they’d still be on extremely thin ice. A draw would leave them 21 points behind 17th place with 21 points still available – hanging on by their fingernails.

In this scenario, their next match becomes do-or-die. Southampton would host Aston Villa on Saturday, April 12th, knowing that anything less than a victory would confirm their relegation. Even a draw wouldn’t be enough, regardless of what Wolves achieve in their fixture against Tottenham the following day.

It’s the football equivalent of walking a tightrope without a safety net, with strong winds blowing, while juggling flaming torches. Not impossible, but you wouldn’t bet your house on it, would you?

If by some miracle Southampton did win against both Tottenham and Aston Villa, they’d still need an incredible run of results – both for themselves and against their relegation rivals – to have any chance of staying up. We’re talking about the kind of comeback that would make Lazarus himself raise an eyebrow.

The Unwanted Records at Stake

Nobody wants to be remembered for the wrong reasons, but Southampton are flirting with some unwanted Premier League records that could cement their place in the history books for all the wrong reasons.

If Southampton’s relegation is confirmed this weekend in Matchweek 31, they would become the first Premier League team ever to be relegated with as many as seven matches still to play. That’s not the kind of pioneering achievement any club wants on their resume.

Currently, the record for earliest Premier League relegation is jointly held by Ipswich Town and Derby County, who both had their fate sealed with six fixtures remaining in the 1994/95 and 2007/08 seasons respectively. Southampton are on the verge of claiming this record all for themselves – talk about breaking new ground in the most painful way possible!

But wait, there’s more! Southampton are also dangerously close to registering the lowest points total in Premier League history. The current record holders are Derby County’s class of 2007/08, who finished their campaign with a paltry 11 points. Southampton currently have 10 points, meaning they need just two more points from their remaining eight matches to avoid this particular ignominy.

They came agonizingly close to securing one of those points in their recent match against Crystal Palace. Leading 1-0 and looking set to take a step away from Derby’s unwanted record, they conceded an equalizer in stoppage time. The 1-1 draw means they still need another two points to surpass Derby’s total.

Is There Any Hope for Southampton?

In football, as in life, it’s never over until it’s over. Mathematically speaking, Southampton could still survive – though it would require a miracle of biblical proportions.

Their maximum possible points tally for the season is 34, which is more than Wolves (32 points), Ipswich (20 points), and Leicester City (17 points) currently have. So yes, in theory, they could still finish above three teams and secure Premier League survival.

They could even finish above Tottenham, who currently have 34 points – but for that to happen, Spurs would need to lose every remaining match while Southampton would need to win all of theirs. Oh, and they’d also need to overturn a goal difference swing of 60. So, not impossible, just… extremely, ridiculously, laughably improbable.

The reality is that Southampton’s focus might already be shifting toward planning for life in the Championship next season. Rebuilding, regrouping, and aiming for an immediate return to the Premier League would be the sensible approach at this stage.

The Remaining Fixtures: A Glimmer of Hope or the Final Nails?

Let’s take a look at Southampton’s remaining fixtures to see if there’s any realistic path to survival, or whether these matches are likely to be the final nails in their Premier League coffin.

After the crucial Tottenham match this Sunday, Southampton face:

• Aston Villa (Home)
• West Ham (Away)
• Fulham (Home)
• Leicester City (Away)
• Manchester City (Home)
• Everton (Away)
• Arsenal (Home)

That’s a mixed bag of opponents, including some of the league’s top teams like Manchester City and Arsenal, as well as more mid-table sides like West Ham and Fulham. There are potentially winnable games in there, but given Southampton’s form this season, even these would represent significant challenges.

For context, let’s compare this run-in with their relegation rivals:

As you can see, all the teams in the relegation battle have some tough fixtures ahead, but Southampton’s position means they have the most ground to make up with the least margin for error.

What Relegation Would Mean for Southampton

If the worst does happen and Southampton are relegated, what would it mean for the club? Well, beyond the obvious disappointment, there are several significant implications.

Financially, relegation is a hammer blow. Premier League clubs benefit from massive TV deals that Championship teams can only dream of. This financial gulf means Southampton would likely need to tighten their belts considerably, which often leads to player sales and restructuring.

Many of their top players would probably look to secure moves to remain in the Premier League or join top-flight clubs in other countries. This player exodus is a common feature of relegation and can make it challenging to bounce back immediately.

On the flip side, relegation can sometimes offer a chance to reset, rebuild, and come back stronger. Many clubs have used their time in the Championship to develop a more sustainable model and return to the Premier League in better shape. Southampton themselves have experience with this, having been promoted back to the Premier League in 2012 after a seven-year absence from the top flight.

For the fans, relegation means saying goodbye to those glamour ties against the big six and preparing for away days at smaller grounds across the country. It’s a different experience, but the Championship is an exciting, competitive league in its own right.

The End of an Era or Just a Bump in the Road?

As Sunday approaches, Southampton fans will be preparing themselves for what could be a day of reckoning and their top-flight status hangs by the thinnest of threads. But it has been all season – they started the 2024-25 campaign with odds of 11/8 to be relegated and it just got worse from there.

Whether relegation comes this weekend or in the weeks that follow, it seems increasingly inevitable. The challenge then becomes not about avoiding the drop but about ensuring the club is in the best possible position to bounce back.

Football is cyclical – teams rise and fall, sometimes dramatically. Southampton’s potential relegation doesn’t have to be the end of their story but rather a challenging chapter in their ongoing journey. Many great clubs have faced relegation and returned stronger for the experience.

For now, though, all eyes will be on the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this Sunday. Can Southampton pull off an unlikely result to extend their Premier League life for at least another week? Or will we witness the earliest relegation in Premier League history? Whatever happens, it’s another reminder of the high-stakes drama that makes football the most watched sport on the planet.