Premier League 24/25: Southampton squad, starting XI and odds

Now the 2024/25 Premier League season is mid-way through, Ladbrokes takes you through Southampton's squad, their chances of staying in the division and what their starting XI has been.

After beating Leeds at Wembley in the playoff final, Southampton secured their spot in the 2024/25 Premier League season, bouncing back at the first time of asking.

Russell Martin did a good job as Saints boss in the Championship, but he failed to last even half a season with the club in the Premier League, getting the sack hours after a 5-0 loss to Tottenham on December 15.

With all that said, Ladbrokes takes you through Southampton's squad for the Premier League season, what their starting XI has been, and their odds of staying in the division.

Below is the squad that Southampton have taken into 2024/25 Premier League season, which features a mix of experienced players and youth talent, as well as both players who played in the Championship last season, and some newcomers.

• Alex McCarthy, Joe Lumley, Gavin Bazunu, Aaron Ramsdale
• Kyle Walker-Peters, Ryan Manning, Jack Stephens, James Bree, Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Juan Larios, Jan Bednarek, Armel Bella-Kotchap, Ronnie Edwards, Yukinari Sugawara, Charlie Taylor, Nathan Wood
• Flynn Downes, Joe Aribo, Will Smallbone, Carlos Alcaraz, Samuel Edozie, Sam Ayo-Ameyaw, Adam Lallana, Lesley Ugochukwu, Mateus Fernandes, Ryan Fraser, Maxwel Cornet
• Adam Armstrong, Ross Stewart, Paul Onuachu, Kamaldeen Sulemana, Ben Brereton Diaz, Cameron Archer
  

As noted, Southampton have made some interesting signings before the start of the 2024/25 campaign, including bringing Adam Lallana back to the club following the expiration of his contract with Brighton to provide some much-needed experience.

Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Flynn Downes have had their loan moves from Man City and West Ham made permanent, much to the delight of Saints fans, while Charlie Taylor joins as a free agent from Burnley and Lesley Ugochukwu signs from Chelsea on loan for the season.

A big signing for the club is Aaron Ramsdale, who helped get Arsenal back into the Champions League just over a year ago, and will be playing his football for the Saints on a permanent basis following a summer move.

Mateus Fernandes is a rather exciting signing from Sporting Lisbon in Portugal, who like Ugochukwu, is expected to provide some energy and skill in the middle of the park.

Ronnie Edwards joins as a highly-rated ball-playing defender from Peterborough, with new signing Nathan Wood also coming in from Swansea to play at the heart of the defence.

Despite only rejoining Aston Villa earlier this summer, Cameron Archer has signed for Southampton on a permanent deal, hoping to continue his develop and gain regular first team football.

Ryan Fraser returns Southampton from Newcastle, this time on a permanent deal, with Maxel Cornet also providing Premier League experience having signed on a loan from West Ham.

Yukinari Sugawara is an interesting signing, given that Kyle Walker-Peters remains at the club. Ben Brereton Diaz has joined from Villarreal, having played in the Premier League in the second half of last season, on loan at Sheffield United. Kuryu Matsuki also signed from FC Tokyo, but he's gone straight out on loan to Goztepe to develop further. Romeo Akachukwu is another addition to Southampton's ranks, signing from Waterford.

Stuart Armstrong and Che Adams joined the likes of Jake Vokins, Dynel Simeu, Matt Carson and Luke Pearce in leaving the club on free transfers this summer.

Romain Perraud has joined Real Betis on a permanent deal, with Lynaco also departing for Atletico Mineiro in Brazil. The highly-rated Jayden Meghoma leaves for Brenford, but given the Saints' depth in that error, that sale shouldn't be too much of a worry for fans.

Juan has joined from Sau Paulo in Brazil, but won't be playing his football for the Saints this year, as he's gone out on loan immediately to Goztepe. Sekou Mara has left for Strasbourg, whilst Mateusz Lis has joined Goztepe, both on permanent deals.

Zach Awe joins Accrington Stanley on loan, with Cam Bragg, Nico Lawrence, Ollie Wright and Lewis Payne joining Crawley, MK Dons, Cheltenham and Yeovil respectively on short-term temporary deals. Shea Charles has also left on loan, going to Sheffield Wednesday on loan.

Alex McCarthy ended the season as Southampton's number one, and he's been in that role whilst Aaron Ramsdale is out injured, but the ex-Arsenal number one remains the club's first choice when fit.

Regardless of whether or not they play a back four or five, Jack Stephens and Jan Bednarek are usually always in defence, as are Kyle Walker-Peters and Sugawara on the right, with Ryan Manning able to come in when needed.

Flynn Downes plays in midfield, with Fernandes alongside him. Tyler Dibling has been his side's most-exciting prospect this season, and he often plays as part of Southampton's midfield as well.

Cameron Archer and Adam Armstrong dove-tail nicely as a front-two, but the feeling many Saints fans have is that the pair are better suited to Championship football rather than life in the Premier League.

Like Ipswich, the bookies are tipping Southampton to go straight back down to the Championship as one of the favourites to get relegated from the Premier League.

Southampton were Premier League mainstays up until 2023, and many of their players from that side still feature in their squad today, so Martin will be hoping the Saints have enough experience and quality to remain in the division.

For what it's worth, Man City are rather interestingly at 12/1 to go down from the Premier League, priced similarly as West Ham and Crystal Palace, two teams they're deemed to be significantly better than.

For those interested, Liverpool are the favourites to win the Premier League title come May 2025, the first time that will have happened in five years.

Southampton's last Premier League match, prior to this season, was in May 2023, a 4-4 draw with Liverpool, and their first game of the campaign saw them travel to St James Park for a tricky away fixture against Newcastle, which they lost 1-0.

Southampton then hosted Man United on September 14, a game they lost 3-0, before another home game against Ipswich a week later on September 21, which ended in a 1-1 draw.

Arsenal beat Southampton 3-1 on October 5, before a tricky gamesagainst relegation rivals Leicester on October 19, which ended in a heart-breaking 3-2 defeat. It didn't get any easier from then though, as a week later, they faced title challengers Man City, surprisingly only losing that game 1-0, but the scoreline could, and probably should have been a lot worse.

Southampton played Liverpool in a repeat of their final fixture of the 2022/23 season at home on November 23, with that ending in a spirited 3-2 loss. The defeat at the hands of Arne Slot's game before Southampton were trashed 5-1 by Chelsea on December 4.

Southampton then played Tottenham at home on December 14, losing 5-0 in what was Martin's final game before getting the sack. That came before the Saints travelled to Manchester the following month for an away game against Man United on January 15, which they lost 3-1.

It's was a huge game against fellow Premier League newcomers Ipswich on February 1, which ended in a 2-1 win for the Saints. That came before a tricky away trip to London to face Chelsea on February 25 ended in a thumping 4-0 loss.

In their next Premier League outing, the Saints traveled to Anfield to face Liverpool, with the game taking place on March 8 and ending in a 3-1 win for the home side. Southampton's next big game sees them face Tottenham in London on April 5.

The final three games of the season won't be easy for Southampton, as they face Man City at home on May 10, Everton in the final ever game at Goodison Park on May 18, and Arsenal on the final day of the season at St Mary's on May 25.

Ladbrokes recently looked at the odds for each of the 20 teams competing in the Premier League this season, starting with Man City and working our way down to Ipswich and Southampton, who the bookies have given a 0.13% chance of winning England's top-flight come May 2025.

View the latest football odds.

All odds and markets are correct as of the date of publication.