[9][10] The club also sold right-back Nathaniel Clyne to Liverpool,[11] midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin to Manchester United,[12] and striker Emmanuel Mayuka to French side Metz.

[17][18] In the summer transfer window, the Saints made seven full signings – striker Juanmi from Málaga,[19] right-backs Cédric Soares and Cuco Martina from Sporting CP and FC Twente, respectively,[20][21] midfielder Jordy Clasie from Feyenoord,[22] defensive midfielder Oriol Romeu from Chelsea,[23] goalkeeper Harry Lewis from Shrewsbury Town,[24] and centre-back Virgil van Dijk from Celtic.

[13] The club also brought in Fulham goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg and Queens Park Rangers centre-back Steven Caulker on season-long loans.

[40] New signings Juanmi and Cédric Soares scored their first goals for the club, while Jay Rodriguez returned from a long-term injury to strike twice in the game.

[41] In the third-place playoff match against hosts Red Bull Salzburg, the Saints lost 2–0, thus finishing fourth in the tournament.

[46] The club finished their pre-season preparations at St Mary's Stadium against Spanish side RCD Espanyol on 2 August.

[49] The slow start to the season continued, as the Saints drew with recently promoted Watford on 23 August,[50] before they won their first game on at the end of the month by beating Norwich City 3–0.

[55] Sadio Mané took advantage of a defensive error to put Southampton in the lead on 60 minutes, before Graziano Pellè scored his fifth of the campaign to make it 3–1 for the visitors.

A goal from Sadio Mané with four minutes left of regulation time cancelled out a Christian Benteke strike and resulted in a 1–1 draw.

[57] To begin November, Southampton hosted local rivals AFC Bournemouth in the first top-flight meeting between the two South Coast sides.

Two first half goals in quick succession from Steven Davis and Graziano Pellè secured the 2–0 win, moving Southampton up in the table to seventh.

[58] The following week, the Saints traveled north to face Sunderland, where a Dušan Tadić penalty in the 69th minute (after Ryan Bertrand was taken down by Yann M'Vila) ensured the team claimed all three points, after strong efforts from Steven Davis and José Fonte were cleared from the line.

[60] Southampton picked up a second consecutive loss the following week against title contenders Manchester City, who won relatively comfortably thanks to goals from Kevin De Bruyne, Fabian Delph and Aleksandar Kolarov.

[63] Yohan Cabaye scored the only goal of the game shortly before the break, with the Saints failing to pressurise Palace for long periods of the match.

[63] The Saints lost another game the following week at home to Tottenham Hotspur, who won 2–0 thanks to goals from Harry Kane and Dele Alli, both within the last five minutes of the first half.

[68] Shane Long headed in the opener in the 17th minute from a Matt Targett delivery, before substitute Dušan Tadić secured the win in the second half with a close range effort.

[68] Three days later the Saints beat West Brom 3–0 with two goals from James Ward-Prowse and one from Dušan Tadić to move up to tenth in the table.

[71] Goalkeeper Fraser Forster was named the man of the match, after making a string of impressive saves to keep a clean sheet for the visitors.

[73] Shane Long scored the only goal of the game in the second half, levelling Graziano Pellè as the season's top scorer.

[77] Graziano Pellè scored a brace in the first half to put Southampton ahead, and although Marko Arnautović brought one back for the hosts, they were unable to turn the game in their favour and it finished 2–1.

[80] Shortly after the break, substitute Sadio Mané saw a penalty saved by Simon Mignolet, before the striker scored a first for the hosts.

[84] Tadić and Westwood each scored their second goals after the break, before Sadio Mané secured the win for the visitors in injury time.

[87] Graziano Pellè came on as a substitute in the second half and doubled the scoreline in the 61st minute, before former Southampton midfielder Jason Puncheon pulled one back for Palace.

[92] Graziano Pellè found the net first in the 36th minute to put Southampton one up, before Dušan Tadić scored a penalty just before half time.

In the first leg the Saints drew 1–1 with the Danish champions, with Jay Rodriguez equalising after Tim Sparv's opener on the stroke of half-time.

[94] In the second leg, Midtjylland striker Morten Rasmussen scored the only goal of the game to ensure the Danish side won 2–1 on aggregate to eliminate Southampton from the competition.