Chelsea return to Premier League action this Saturday as they take on Southampton at the Saint Mary’s Stadium.
Venue: Saint Mary’s Stadium (Southampton).
Key Statistics
Southampton have lost their last three home games in all competitions.
The hosts have not kept a clean sheet in six competitive games.
The Saints have the joint fourth-best defence at home this season having conceded 14 goals (alongside Chelsea).
Chelsea have the third-best away record in the league this season, having taken 33 points (level with Liverpool but with a worse goal difference).
The Blues have won their last seven away games in all competitions.
They have kept four clean sheets in their last seven away games.
Head to head
Chelsea have the upper hand in this fixture, as they have won 25 out of the 45 PL meetings between both sides. Southampton have nine wins and eleven draws against the Blues in the Premier League.
Latest performances in all competitions
Southampton: D-L-L-L-L
Chelsea: L-L-W-W-W
Southampton
Southampton will host Chelsea at the Saint Mary’s Stadium, as both teams look to move on from their respective bad run of games.
The Saints came from one goal down to secure a draw against Leeds United last weekend. Leeds took an early lead through Jack Harrison in the first half, but James Ward-Prowse levelled the deficit for his team after the break.
The draw means Southampton are winless in their last five Premier League games, losing all three straight home games before the international break.
They sit in 12th position in the league rankings, one point behind tenth-placed Leicester City and Crystal Palace in ninth.
Ralph Hassenhutl’s side are winless in their last four encounters with the Blues and fell to a 3-1 defeat in the first leg. But Ralph Hasenhuttl will fancy his side chances of causing a major upset against an uncharacteristically vulnerable Chelsea side who were brushed aside by Brentford last weekend.
Southampton are well on course to better their 15th placed finish last season and a win against Chelsea will propel them into the top half of the Premier League table, with Aston Villa and Leicester City facing an in-form Tottenham and Crystal Palace, respectively.
Lyanco and Alex McCarthy both missed the clash with Leeds through injury and are expected to sit out the visit of the Blues. On-loan striker Armando Broja will be unavailable for this game as he cannot face his parent club.
Possible Southampton starting line-up
Fraser Forster; Kyle Walker-Peters, Jan Bednarek, Mohammed Salisu, Romain Perraud; Ibrahima Diallo, James Ward-Prowse, Oriol Romeu, Mohamed Elyounoussi; Che Adams.
Injured: Alex McCarthy, Lyanco
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Chelsea
Chelsea suffered back-to-back defeats for the second time the season after losing to both Brentford and Real Madrid in the Champions League.
The Blues were put to the sword by Thomas Frank’s men with Vitaly Janelt and Bryan Mbeumo, both grabbing a brace of goals and assists respectively to help their team to a 1-4 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues returned to international action against Real Madrid but found a red hot in-form Karim Benzema too much to handle as the Frenchman helped himself to a hat-trick in front of the Stamford Bridge faithful.
The loss against Real Madrid was the first time Chelsea have suffered consecutive home defeats in all competitions this season.
Thomas Tuchel admitted that the tie was dead against the Spanish giants in his post-match interview and he must now return to the drawing board as he seeks to find solutions for his ailing side.
Meanwhile, the visitors have been dominant in their away fixtures this season and such consistency will leave room for optimism for Thomas Tuchel. The German Tactician has done brilliantly since the club was hit by an economic sanction but must now find the resolve to finish the job.
Chelsea were without the services of Hudson-Odoi and Ben Chilwell for the visit of Real Madrid. Chilwell remains sidelined through injury and Hudson-Odoi remains a doubt for the game against the Saints.
Possible Chelsea starting line-up
Edouard Mendy; César Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva, Antonio Rudiger; Reece James, Marcos Alonso, N’golo Kante, Jorginho; Mason Mount, Christian Pulisic, Kai Havertz.
Injured: Ben Chilwell
Doubtful: Callum Hudson-Odoi
Suspended: None
Prediction
Southampton 2-1 Chelsea