Saints took on Swansea twice in 1982 - both games a loss

When the two teams met on April 20, 2013, Southampton hoped to avoid a hat-trick of top-flight defeats at Swansea City.  The club found themselves heading to the Welsh side for only the third time in the elite tier of English football, and they felt as though they had something to prove.

The memories of seasoned spectators will harken back to the previous two visits, both of which were to Swansea’s Vetch Field Stadium in 1982.

Neither ended well for Saints.

The first came in April when Lawrie McMenemy's team suffered a disappointing 1-0 loss.

It was Alan Curtis, who would later make a move to The Dell, who scored the only goal in the 27th minute.

In a team brimming with talent, the Saints took to the field, boasting an impressive lineup that included renowned players like Kevin Keegan, Mick Channon, and Alan Ball.

Despite their best efforts, the team led by John Toshack proved to be impenetrable, leaving Saints unable to break them down.

At the start of their first-ever season in the top flight, the Saints had established themselves as the dominant force in Division One, leading the table by mid-March.

But with a string of disappointing outcomes, which included this one, their position and dominance gradually declined towards the conclusion of the season, resulting in a seventh-place finish - one place behind the Swans.

In the following October, the teams once again gathered at Vetch Field. However, this encounter was filled with entertainment and excitement.

That said, it was Swansea who edged it and grabbed all three points in a 3-2 win.

At the brink of halftime, Justin Fashanu's goal propelled the Saints into the lead, but the home team equalized a few minutes into the second half with an unfortunate Dennis Rofe own goal.

Just a minute later, Robbie James propelled Swansea into the lead, only to have Danny Wallace equalize less than 60 seconds after, resulting in a thrilling 2-2 scoreline.

Toshack's team emerged victorious in the 88th minute of the match when Jimmy Loveridge found the back of the net.

The match completed Fashanu's loan spell at Saints. It was his last for the club before returning to his parent team, Nottingham Forest.

It was also Alan Ball’s penultimate appearance for the club, as he then called it a day after a 3-2 win over his former club, Everton, at The Dell.

In stark contrast to their previous season, Swansea experienced a complete turnaround as they found themselves relegated.

Twelve months later they went down again and in 1985/86 suffered their third demotion in four seasons.

The Swans continued to yo-yo between the bottom two divisions before winning promotion to the Championship in the 2007/08 season.

Saints managed to break the spell with their third away top-flight meeting on April 2013, despite it being a drab 0-0 affair.