The 2012–13 Southampton F.C. season was the club's 14th season in the Premier League, and their 36th at the top level of English football. Having achieved consecutive promotions from League One and the Championship the previous two seasons, the club were looking to retain their place in the Premier League after a seven-year absence from the top flight. Southampton finished 14th in the league table, five points above the relegation zone. They also made it to the fourth round of the League Cup, and were eliminated from the FA Cup in the third round by Chelsea.
In preparation for their first season back in the top flight, Southampton strengthened their squad relatively heavily during the summer transfer window, breaking the club's transfer fee record twice with the acquisitions of Burnley striker Jay Rodriguez in July and Uruguayan midfielder Gastón Ramírez from Bologna on deadline day. Other significant additions included Rangers midfielder Steven Davis, Japanese defender Maya Yoshida, and young full-back Nathaniel Clyne. Several players were released at the start of the campaign, while Dan Harding was the only player sold by the club, moving to Nottingham Forest in July. Norwegian centre-back Vegard Forren was signed in January 2013, although did not make an appearance during his first season at the club.
Southampton began their first top-flight campaign in seven years against reigning champions Manchester City and runners-up Manchester United, and picked up only four points from their opening ten games leaving them firmly at the bottom of the table. In November and December the team's fortunes improved, and they picked up important wins over fellow strugglers to lift themselves out of the relegation zone. After Christmas the Saints went on a six-game unbeaten run, and they later picked up high-profile wins against Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea to continue to move away from the drop zone. Survival in the Premier League was confirmed on 14 May when Wigan Athletic lost to Arsenal to take the final relegation place. Southampton finished 14th in the table having won nine, drawn 14, and lost 15 of their 38 games, collecting 41 points in the process.
Despite leading Southampton to back-to-back promotions in 2011 and 2012, manager Nigel Adkins was fired in January 2013, with the club in 15th place in the Premier League table, and was replaced by former Espanyol boss Mauricio Pochettino. Along with the manager, the majority of Adkins's coaching team were also dismissed, replaced by staff of Pochettino's appointment. The winner of the club's Player of the Season award was Morgan Schneiderlin, who was voted in ahead of top scorer Rickie Lambert and midfield partner Jack Cork.
Pre-season Southampton began their pre-season preparations on 14 July 2012 with the second Markus Liebherr Memorial Cup (in memory of the former Southampton owner Markus Liebherr, which this year featured fellow Premier League club Arsenal and Belgian Pro League champions Anderlecht. In the first match of the tournament, Southampton lost to Anderlecht 1–0, with the only goal coming early in the first half from striker Tom De Sutter. Arsenal won their first game against Anderlecht by the same scoreline, with a goal from young midfielder Henri Lansbury deciding the match. Southampton scored their first goal of the 2012 pre-season in their final match against Arsenal, when new signing Jay Rodriguez converted a Danny Fox cross in the 31st minute, although the lead proved short-lived when Gervinho equalised a few minutes later, causing the game to end in a tie. Despite winning the subsequent penalty shoot-out, the Saints could not overhaul the points lead of their opponents and it was Arsenal who won the second Memorial Cup and joined Athletic Bilbao on the honours list.
Travelling to a French training camp later in the month, the Saints played Étoile Carouge on 18 July and faced Evian Thonon Gaillard on 21 July. In the first match, Southampton came back from a 1–0 deficit to win 4–1, with a goal from Luke Shaw and a late hat-trick from Billy Sharp. In the second, the Saints won by a single first-half goal from Jason Puncheon. Back in England, St Mary's hosted Dutch champions Ajax on 28 July, with the visitors securing a 1–0 win with a second half goal from winger Aras Özbiliz. On 4 August recently relegated Wolverhampton Wanderers travelled to face Southampton, with the home side winning 2–0 thanks to goals from Billy Sharp and midfielder Jason Puncheon.
Southampton travelled away for their penultimate pre-season friendly, facing Bristol City on 7 August. Jon Stead opened the scoring for the home side late in the first half with a long range goal, and the side nearly doubled their lead before the break but for a Nathaniel Clyne block in the penalty area. The second half was shared relatively evenly between the sides, and it took until stoppage time for the Saints to come back and leave the game level courtesy of striker Billy Sharp. The club's final pre-season game was played at St Mary's on 11 August against Italian club Udinese. Despite enjoying a large portion of possession throughout the game, it was the visitors who took the spoils in indulgent fashion with a 4–0 win over the Saints. Udinese went one up after 12 minutes with a long range effort from captain Antonio Di Natale, and doubled their lead another 12 minutes later with a similar long range strike from Brazilian midfielder Willians. Yet another 12 minutes later, Di Natale scored his second and the team's third to put Udinese three up at half time. Ultimately, Southampton were unable to respond, and in the 64th minute Colombian striker Luis Muriel scored Udinese's fourth to mark a disappointing end to a relatively successful pre-season campaign for Southampton.
Premier League
August–October 2012 Manchester City (19 August 2012) Southampton began their first season back in the Premier League on 19 August against title holders Manchester City. The game began well for the visitors, who put a lot of pressure on City early on, before defender Jos Hooiveld gave away a penalty for a 16th-minute foul. David Silva missed the penalty, but after a period of heavy possession for the hosts the first goal was scored by striker Carlos Tevez five minutes before half time. Ten minutes into the second half Rickie Lambert was brought on as a substitute, and within three minutes he had scored the equaliser in a move involving forward Guly do Prado and young midfielder James Ward-Prowse. Southampton went ahead just under ten minutes later, when second substitute Steven Davis scored on his league debut for the club, although the lead was cut short after just four minutes by substitute striker Edin Džeko, and the hosts retained the lead in the 80th minute courtesy of Samir Nasri. Despite additional chances for both sides, Southampton could not equalise again and the game ended 3–2 to the reigning Premier League champions.
Wigan Athletic (25 August 2012) In their Premier League return to St Mary's, Southampton hosted Wigan Athletic on 25 August. Despite boasting a few clear goalscoring opportunities in the first half, including an Adam Lallana shot which hit the crossbar, the Saints were unable to break the deadlock in the first period and the teams went into half time level. It was the visitors who came out in the second half firing however, as Franco Di Santo broke the deadlock six minutes after the break with a powerful shot from inside the area. With chances opening for both sides, Athletic put the game beyond the hosts in the last minute, when a defensive error gave Ivorian Arouna Koné the chance to end the game, leaving Southampton in the relegation zone.
Manchester United (2 September 2012) On 2 September the Saints hosted last season's runners-up Manchester United in their third game on the season. Rickie Lambert opened the scoring for the home side with his second goal of the season in the 16th minute, heading in a Jason Puncheon cross. The lead was cancelled out just seven minutes later however, as new United signing Robin van Persie equalised. The first half ended level, and it took until the 55th minute for the deadlock to be broken, with Morgan Schneiderlin putting Southampton ahead for the second time in the match. 15 minutes later the visitors were awarded a penalty due to a foul by Jos Hooiveld on Van Persie, although it was saved by Kelvin Davis to keep Saints ahead. In the 87th minute however, Van Persie scored his second of the match to equalise for the second time, and he completed a hat-trick in stoppage time to secure United's win and subject the Saints to their third loss in three games, leaving them bottom of the table as the only club yet to have picked up a point.
Arsenal (15 September 2012)
Following a two-week international break, Southampton travelled to the Emirates Stadium to face Arsenal on 15 September. The match started poorly for the travelling Saints, as the home side went one up in the 11th minute when Jos Hooiveld deflected in Kieran Gibbs's saved shot to score an own goal. Just 20 minutes later Lukas Podolski scored a free kick following a foul on Francis Coquelin by Steven Davis, starting off a hugely negative ten-minute period for the visitors – within four more minutes it was 3–0 to the home side when Gervinho added his name to the scoresheet, and two minutes later Nathaniel Clyne scored the second own goal of the game to put Arsenal 4–0 up. Just before the break Danny Fox scored his first goal for Southampton, taking advantage of a mistake by Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny to give the Saints a first half consolation. Southampton started better in the second half, but could not break through the defence of the home side, who went 5–1 up after 71 minutes with Gervinho scoring his second of the match. Former Southampton winger Theo Walcott finished off the match with an 88th-minute conversion, leaving the Saints at the bottom of the table still with no points.
Aston Villa (22 September 2012) On 22 September Southampton hosted Aston Villa, in a match which they had to win in order to avoid their worst ever start to a season. After a relatively even first half hour, it was Villa who broke the deadlock in the 36th minute when Darren Bent took advantage of a defensive error to score, putting the visitors one up going into half time. The Saints started the second half much more aggressively though, and in the 58th minute equalised courtesy of a Rickie Lambert strike. With the added momentum, Southampton went ahead five minutes later when Nathaniel Clyne scored his first goal for the club, with Gastón Ramírez providing the assist for the goal. Jason Puncheon put the club 3–1 up another nine minutes later, with Lambert and Ramírez working together to provide the assist for the goal. Lambert scored his second of the match from the penalty spot in stoppage time, and the Saints saw the game out until the end to pick up their first points of the season and move out of the relegation zone.
Everton (29 September 2012)