What AI thinks the score of Southampton FC's first 5 EFL Championship fixtures will be | OneFootball

Saints will begin the 2026/27 in intriguing circumstances

The 2026/27 EFL fixture schedule has now been released, and we are now less than two months away from the beginning of the new season.

The season, of course, will begin with the first round of the EFL Cup on the weekend of Saturday, August 8th, before the 24 sides in all of the Championship, League One and League Two kick off their league campaigns the following week, with the first encounter taking place on Friday, August 14th.

With all 36 matches throughout the three divisions available for supporters up and down the country being screened on Sky Sports, there is a split of them right across the weekend, with Southampton being one of those sides in the second tier having to wait until Sunday, August 16th, to begin their second successive campaign at the level with an away trip to Watford.

It has been well-documented that the South Coast outfit will enter the upcoming term in unprecedented circumstances, even though the majority of 2026 until May was one of extreme success for Tonda Eckert and his team.

That was, until the club admitted to multiple breaches of the EFL's 127th regulation for observing opposition training sessions outside of authorised times, with the matches in question being against Oxford United, Ipswich Town and the first leg of the play-off semi-finals against Middlesbrough.

Eckert's side were then expelled from the play-off final and handed a four-point deduction, while Eckert could still be banned by the FA despite being granted a managerial reprieve by Dragan Solak.

With that in mind, the Hampshire side's opening fixtures are certainly intriguing, and FLW have asked AI to predict the outcome of Saints' first five games.

AI predicts encouraging EFL Championship start for Southampton despite four-point deduction

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As previously mentioned, Saints will begin their Championship season with a trip to Vicarage Road on the Sunday afternoon of the division's opening weekend, with the Hornets set to kickstart a new era in this particular fixture following the recent appointment of Alessio Dionisi.

As such, the computer believes that Southampton will kickstart their season with a 1-1 draw in Hertfordshire, before returning to St Mary's for two successive home outings against Stoke City and Millwall.

The Potters and Lions are coming into this campaign off the back of extremely contrasting 2024/25 terms, with the former seeing their promotion hopes die a death after several injury issues in the New Year, while Alex Neil's team will hope to maintain their own position in the play-offs after a semi-final loss to Hull City.

That said, Saints have not lost a league game on home soil since January 17th, and AI believes they will take maximum points from the Hampshire double-header, scoring four goals in the process in 2-0 and 2-1 results.

Birmingham City will also be expected to challenge for a top-eight finish under Chris Davies this season after ending 10th last term, and AI believes Saints will take another 1-1 draw away from St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park in what will be a hostile environment for the visitors.

Lastly, the computer predicts Saints to take their first away win of the season on the weekend of September 5th, when they face off against Lincoln City in a league fixture for the first time since 1961.

A 2-0 win at the LNER Stadium would see Saints take 11 points from a possible 15 (seven table points when taking the four-point deduction into account). AI believes this would have them sat ninth in the table on goal difference.

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It remains to be seen if Eckert will be given the chance to oversee Southampton's 2026/27 due to the ongoing investigations.

Not only that, but there is major uncertainty as to what the squad at St Mary's will look like by the time they travel to Watford in mid-August, with the likes of Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Shea Charles and Leo Scienza attracting strong transfer interest.

The club will certainly hope Cyle Larin continues his fine club and international form heading into the new campaign after completing a permanent switch from RCD Mallorca, although there is a lack of options beyond the free-scoring Canadian after the intriguing release of Ross Stewart.