Southampton suffered only their second home league defeat of 2016 on Sunday as they were beaten 2-0 by Chelsea at St Mary’s thanks to goals from Eden Hazard and Diego Costa.
The Saints’ other loss this calendar year? Yep, you guessed it. It was against the same opposition back in February, when Branislav Ivanovic scored the winner in a 2-1 win on the south coast.
In fact, the result yesterday wasn’t too surprising given Southampton’s recent home record against the Blues.
They are renowned for being strong at home, especially in the last few seasons, but have taken just one point from the last 12 available against Chelsea at St Mary’s and been beaten seven times in their previous 11 home matches.
That got us thinking here at Football FanCast – do Southampton have any other bogey fixtures against clubs in the Premier League?
We pick out three games that Saints fans must dread each season...
ARSENAL VS SOUTHAMPTON
Whether it was a trip to Highbury or now to the Emirates, Southampton never travel well when they face Arsenal in the capital.
Incredibly, they haven’t won an away league fixture against Arsenal since 1987, and have taken just five points back to the south coast from 18 matches during the Premier League era.
One of those five came against the Gunners back in February, when a brilliant performance from goalkeeper Fraser Forster saw them record a rare 0-0 draw.
EVERTON VS SOUTHAMPTON
Another one of Saints’ bogey trips is their one to Goodison Park.
Their record on Merseyside isn’t quite as bad as away at Arsenal, but they haven’t won there since 1997, when goals from Matt Le Tissier and Kevin Davies – an incredible solo goal, by the way– saw them claim a 2-0 success.
It was a bit of revenge after they had been humiliated 7-1 the season before.
There have been 11 games between the two at Goodison since then, with Southampton taking just three points.
The term’s fixture in January takes on extra added significance for Saints as they will come up against former boss Ronald Koeman.
SOUTHAMPTON VS MANCHESTER UNITED
They may not be the force they once were, but Southampton just can’t seem to beat Manchester United when they host them in the Premier League.
Since they made the move from The Dell to St Mary’s in 2001, Saints have recorded just one win from their eight home fixtures against the Red Devils, with James Beattie netting an 88th-minute winner in 2003.
A solitary point in 2014 is all they have to show from their seven matches since.