WITH the 2022-23 Premier League fixtures now released for all clubs, you can start to assess patterns of fixtures that could be gruelling or crucial for other reasons.

It is impossible to tell how the season will go and exactly which teams Saints will be contending with - at which end of the table. 

After the disappointing ends to the last two Premier League campaigns for Saints, Ralph Hasenhuttl and his side come into this one with a host of contexts to contend with.

The departure of three long-serving first-team coaches in Dave Watson, Craig Fleming and legend Kelvin Davis has paved the way for fresh ideas.

Read more - Southampton's Premier League fixtures 2022-23 revealed

Ruben Selles, 38, has already signed up to join Hasenhuttl in the dugout for the upcoming campaign and may not be the only coach to do so.

For now, attention has turned to summer business with and beyond the imminent announcement of young Manchester City goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu’s St Mary’s move.

It goes without saying that each of the 38 Premier League matches are important to the campaign, and runs of games that end up decisive will prop up all over the year.

Saints put together a marvellous run of just one defeat in 10 league matches between mid-December and March last season, but equally won only one of the final 12.

Here are the periods in the 2022-23 season in which their Premier League destiny could be forged. 

An assessable run of form begins to take shape.

It is obvious to say the first six matches, which are a difficult six for Saints, will be hugely important – but it is after that half-dozen when the pressure will start to build.

They face Tottenham, Leeds, Leicester, Manchester United, Chelsea and Wolves by the start of September – and it would not even take a disaster to have five points or less against those top sides.

But as alluded to earlier, Saints had to make a difficult decision this summer and have chosen to back their current manager in removing three first-team coaches and getting the man he wanted in to replace them.

It is a vote of confidence, but as all votes of confidence in football are, it’s a prompt that expectation to improve now exists and is publicly acknowledged.

If Saints play to a satisfactory standard but then come out of those matches with five points, they then face Brentford at home and Aston Villa away before the international break.

After the break, it is Everton, Manchester City and West Ham. There is enormous pressure on a select few of those matches to win, and should they win none or very few of those – you wonder where that leaves the management.

Brentford and Villa were the orchestrators of two of the darkest days in the 2021-22 season – the former one of the darkest days in Hasenhuttl’s management of the club.

There will be a free pass for that first six, but questions will begin to be asked as we approach almost 30 per cent of the way through the campaign.

As with all of these runs, the alternative end of the spectrum is hitting a purple patch and setting yourself up for a memorable campaign.

10.09 – Saints vs Brentford – 3pm

17.09 – Aston Villa vs Saints – 3pm

01.10 – Saints vs Everton – 3pm

08.10 – Manchester City vs Saints – 3pm

15.10 – Saints vs West Ham – 3pm

Daily Echo: Saints manager Ralph Hasenhuttl and captain James Ward-Prowse (Pic: Daily Echo)Saints manager Ralph Hasenhuttl and captain James Ward-Prowse (Pic: Daily Echo)

Preparing the landing gear.

The second run which looks like it could be massive comes in February, where Saints were playing their best football of 2022.

It is an eight-match run which includes Wolves, Chelsea, Leeds, Leicester, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham and Manchester City.

Again, there are a number of tough games there but this period’s significance derives from where it is in the season.

After this run of fixtures, it will leave Saints with eight matches to go until we are already saying goodbye to yet another Premier League campaign.

In the 2021-22 season at this stage, Saints were 11th in the table – despite having not won in four – and it was enough of a buffer to make ultimately redundant what came next.

Daily Echo: Saints earned four points from the final eight games of 2021-22 (Pic: Stuart Martin)Saints earned four points from the final eight games of 2021-22 (Pic: Stuart Martin)

They eventually slid to 15th, for a second consecutive season, with enough points to finish five clear of the drop.

This run of eight matches will likely determine the direction Saints travel in the table for the rest of the campaign, and they will want to have that cushion of points on the board.

The hope will be that there is significant improvement enough throughout the whole year, peering down at the relegation spots – and more importantly the distance between them and Saints – will not be needed.

If Saints are producing a wonder-season, then equally the matches against the likes of Wolves, Leicester City and West Ham in this run could be the six-pointers that determine the shape of seventh to 12th.

It was in those kind of matches that Saints failed to capitalise on a first top-10 finish under Hasenhuttl, and they will be desperate to do things differently this time around. 

11.02 – Saints vs Wolves – 3pm

18.02 – Chelsea vs Saints – 3pm

25.02 – Leeds United vs Saints – 3pm

04.03 – Saints vs Leicester City – 3pm

11.03 – Manchester United vs Saints – 3pm

18.03 – Saints vs Tottenham Hotspur – 3pm

01.04 – West Ham United vs Saints – 3pm

08.04 – Saints vs Manchester City – 3pm

Daily Echo: Saints beat Spurs and drew with Man United in back-to-back games around this time last season (Pic: PA)Saints beat Spurs and drew with Man United in back-to-back games around this time last season (Pic: PA)

An expectation to win?

Finally, the optimist and pessimist among us might both look at this next run of four games as decisive for the season’s aims.

Liverpool visit St Mary’s on the final day of the season, probably in the hunt for the Premier League title, and all will be forgiven if that is another loss like it was back in May.

The penultimate game of the campaign sees Saints visit Brighton – which will be a fantastic way to see out the away season for the travelling supporters.

But it is the run of four games before which perhaps look favourable. In that time, Saints will face all three of the newly-promoted teams in AFC Bournemouth, Nottingham Forest and Fulham.

Newcastle United away is in there too, which could be a team competing for Europe given the way they progressed this season – but one supporters and Hasenhuttl would equally love to win given the disparate nature of the two club’s takeovers.

The optimist might say that playing the three promoted teams is a good opportunity for those final points to push up the table, although admittedly one always tends to do well.

The pessimist might argue that those three matches could be the difference between who goes back to whence they came.

26.04 - Saints vs AFC Bournemouth – 7:45pm

29.04 – Newcastle United vs Saints – 3pm

06.05 – Nottingham Forest vs Saints – 3pm

13.05 – Saints vs Fulham – 3pm

Daily Echo: Many Saints fans will be visiting Nottingham Forest as a Premier League club for the first time (Pic: PA)Many Saints fans will be visiting Nottingham Forest as a Premier League club for the first time (Pic: PA)

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