PREVIEW: Southampton vs. Swansea 2017: Start time, team news, stats, TV schedule, match thread, and how to watch Premier League online

Key Information:

Date/time: 12/08/2017, 15:00 (UK), 10:00 ET, 07:00 PT (USA)

Venue: St. Mary's, Southampton, UK

Official: TBC

TV: None (UK), NBC Sports Gold (USA) and check out LiveSoccerTV for alternatives.

Streaming: None (UK), NBCSN (USA)

Radio: BBC Radio Solent (UK)

It’s that time of year again: Premier League football is back in our lives.

Much has changed at Southampton since the club’s season ended in dampened circumstance. Former manager Claude Puel is no longer in charge with Mauricio Pellegrino now taking the reins at Saints, while the likes of Jay Rodriguez and Cuco Martina left the club for pastures new. In their places, new recruits Jan Bednarek and Mario Lemina join the squad.

Saints’ first test of the 2017/18 Premier League campaign will be Swansea City, who fought hard to stave off relegation under the guidance of top coach Paul Clement.

Southampton are likely to miss want-away defender Virgil van Dijk, though the official line coming from the club that van Dijk is only unavailable due to suffering a virus holds little weight. Lemina and Badnarek could well feature.

Swansea will be missing Ki Sung-yueng, former Saints winger Nathan Dyer, Fernando Llorente and Gylfi Sigurdsson—the latter being a big-money transfer target for Ronald Koeman’s Everton. New signings Tammy Abraham and Roque Mesa are set to make their debuts for the Swans.

Stats Zone (via BBC Sport):

Southampton have won six of their last eight top-flight games against Swansea, losing the other two.

The Swans' only Premier League win away to Saints came in February 2015, with Jonjo Shelvey scoring the winner.

The Welsh side have failed to score in six of their 10 Premier League encounters with Southampton.

Saints have never won a home game on the opening weekend of a Premier League season (D5, L4), with their only victories coming at Coventry in 1999 and West Brom in 2013.

Southampton won only one of their final eight league games last term.

They also failed to score in their final five home league games - their worst streak since 1937 (in the second tier). A sixth successive blank would be the longest such run in their history.

Saints scored 17 Premier League goals at home last season - only relegated Sunderland, with 16, netted fewer.

They have finished in the top eight of the Premier League in each of the last four seasons.

The last Saints boss to begin with a top-flight victory was Paul Sturrock, who oversaw a 2-0 win against Liverpool in 2004. The last six permanent Southampton managers in the Premier League all failed to win their opening fixture (D4, L2).

The Swans ended last season with a five-game unbeaten streak (W4, D1), and are chasing a fourth consecutive league victory - which would equal their longest winning run in the top flight.

This is the sixth time in seven Premier League seasons that Swansea have started the campaign away from home.

Tammy Abraham, who has joined Swansea on loan from Chelsea, was the top scoring teenager in the Football League last season, netting 23 goals for Bristol City in the Championship.

Everton target Gylfi Sigurdsson led the way for Swansea last season in terms of Premier League appearances (38), assists (13) and distance covered (433km).

Betting Odds:

• Bet 365: Southampton: 8/13 - Draw: 3/1 - Swansea: 11/2

Bet Victor: Southampton: 8/13 - Draw: 29/10 - Swansea: 11/2

Follow the action with live tweets here (please note, we're not responsible for its content).