Nottingham Forest will be attempting to prolong a club-record Premier League streak when they face Southampton on Saturday afternoon.
Nuno Espirito Santo's commenced the 2024-25 campaign with a 1-1 draw at home to Bournemouth, albeit in a game where they received a double setback.
As well as conceding a late equaliser to the Cherries, Forest have likely lost midfielder Danilo for the entire season after he suffered a broken leg during the first half.
From a purely result perspective, though, Nuno will hope that Forest have something to build on as they participate in another fixture that could potentially be pivotal come the end of the season.
Forest were able to end the previous campaign with back-to-back away victories, recording wins at Sheffield United and Burnley that ultimately made the difference between survival and relegation.
As a result, Forest are attempting to move closer to equalling their all-time top-flight record for consecutive away wins, that standing at four.
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Forest bidding to extend unbeaten streak
Premier League fixtures between these sides have been few and far between, their only double-header since the turn of the Millennium coming in 2022-23.
Nevertheless, in the six seasons that they have squared off in the Premier League, Forest are yet to suffer a single away defeat to the Saints.
Forest have recorded a total of four victories and two draws, the most recent being a 1-0 triumph in January 2023 when Taiwo Awoniyi scored the only goal of the game.
The East Midlands outfit have never gone more consecutive away games without defeat against one opponent since the Premier League was created.
However, it should be noted that Southampton did prevail by a 3-2 scoreline when the teams met at St Mary's in the Championship in September 2011, Rickie Lambert scoring a hat-trick on that occasion.
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Southampton's dismal Premier League home record
Southampton will be playing in their first Premier League match at St Mary's since regaining their place in the division at the first attempt.
That said, it should not necessarily be viewed as a positive with just two top-flight victories having been posted at the stadium in the last 21 games.
Furthermore, Southampton have gone 14 Premier League contests without posting a win at St Mary's, their longest since a run of 17 during the 1988-89 campaign.
Russell Martin's side kicked off the new season with a 1-0 defeat at Newcastle United last weekend.
Darren Plant
