Get the lowdown on our next opponents: Southampton.
The Opposition
Last season, Southampton’s academy once again showcased why it is regarded as one of the most respected youth setups in English football, blending competitive performances across all age groups with continued first-team integration and player progression through the club’s fabled pathway.
The Under-21s produced a commendable 2024/25 campaign, finishing fifth in Premier League 2 after registering 11 wins from 20 matches, while also reaching the quarter-finals of the Premier League International Cup – underlining their ability to compete with elite academies across Europe. The Under-18s endured a mixed league season but impressed in cup competitions, advancing to the semi-finals of the FA Youth Cup before narrowly losing to Manchester City after extra time.
From that U18 side, several standout performers, including Jay Robinson, Kamari Doyle, Will Merry, and Tyler Dibling, made the step up to the U21s setup, emphasising the club’s continued commitment to developing talent internally.
There were also notable first-team developments, with exciting winger Sam Amo-Ameyaw making his Premier League debut in a 2–0 win over Burnley, while attacking midfielder Dibling earned minutes in both the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup, reaffirming the club’s tradition of providing young players with early senior exposure. Defender Jayden Meghoma also featured regularly in the matchday squad, and goalkeeper Matt Hall secured valuable first-team experience during a loan spell at Cheltenham Town.
As the 2025/26 season got underway, the academy maintained its strong start. The Under-21s have begun the new Premier League 2 campaign brightly, sitting fifth after nine matches, with standout performances from Dibling and Doyle contributing to victories over Fulham and Aston Villa. In the EFL Trophy, the young Saints also impressed with a 3–0 win against AFC Wimbledon in their opening group game, before falling narrowly to Portsmouth in the south-coast derby.
As for the National League Cup, they have so far fallen to a defeat against Woking and a draw with Aldershot Town, though they were able to notch an additional point with a penalty shootout win over the latter, and thus sit four points behind the second place Cards heading into the final group game.
The Manager
Adam Lallana
Southampton legend Adam Lallana returned to St Mary’s after the end of an incredible playing career, taking on the role of First Team Coach from the summer.
Despite being born in St. Albans, Hertfordshire, Lallana moved to Dorset at the age of five and spent a brief period in AFC Bournemouth’s youth setup, where he was spotted by Southampton at the age of 12.
This began a long-term association with the Saints, and set him on a path that saw him start and end a glittering 19-year playing career at St Mary’s, playing 283 games and scoring 60 goals for the club across his two spells as a player.
After swiftly moving through the Academy ranks, he made his debut for the first-team at the age of 18, in 2006, and later became the first Saints midfielder to score 20 goals in a season since Matt Le Tissier’s 30 in 1994/95, doing so in 2010 to top off a campaign which also saw him win the Football League Trophy alongside current Sutton Assistant Manager, Dean Hammond.
He went on to become captain following the club’s return to the Premier League in 2012, playing a key role in the team re-establishing itself in the top flight, with Lallana earning a place in the PFA Team of the Year for his outstanding performances in the 2013/14 season.
That summer, he was named in the England squad for the World Cup in Brazil, before he joined Liverpool ahead of the 2014/15 campaign, going on to make 178 appearances and score 22 goals in six years at Anfield, earning a Champions League winner’s medal in 2019 and then becoming a Premier League champion a year later in his final season with the club.
He would then return to the South Coast to join Brighton & Hove Albion, playing 104 times from 2020 to 2024, when he signed a one-year deal to return to the Saints, with Lallana ending 2024/25 campaign working as part of the coaching staff under Interim Manager Simon Rusk.
The 37-year old has since opted to hang up his boots, and joined Southampton’s coaching staff permanently, working alongside Carl Martin.
One to Watch
Nicholas Oyekunle
Nicholas Oyekunle joined Southampton’s academy at a young age and signed his first professional contract in February 2024, having been prolific in the U18 Premier League.
In the 2024/25 season he scored 26 goals in 22 appearances, tying the league’s all-time scoring record, and subsequently earned his first senior appearance for Southampton in November 2025, with his goal-scoring talent allowing him to rapidly ascend through the youth ranks, and he’s thus widely regarded as one of Southampton’s brightest young prospects.
Internationally, Oyekunle was called up to the England Under-18 squad in May 2025 and made his debut later that month.
Photo Credit: Craig Hobbs Photography
Recent Form
Southampton 1-1 Arsenal
Tottenham Hotspur 1-2 Southampton
Leicester City 3-1 Southampton
Crystal Palace 1-2 Southampton
Southampton 5-2 Fulham
Southampton 5-3 Leicester City
Last Time Out
Southampton Under-21s claimed a point from a competitive affair against Arsenal in Premier League 2.
Arsenal went ahead on nine minutes when Charles Sagoe Jr cut in from the left and drilled a right-footed strike across goal and into the far corner.
However, Saints fought back after half time and deservedly took something from the game, their equaliser coming courtesy of a superb strike from Nick Oyekunle, having won a free kick just outside the Arsenal penalty area. Oyekunle took full advantage of the set piece situation to rifle home into the roof of the net after the ball had been rolled to him by Moses Sesay.
Photo Credit: Stuart Marti // Southampton Football Club
