In-form Chelsea head to the South Coast to take on bottom-of-the-table Southampton in a crucial Premier League match on Wednesday night.
Chelsea continued their impressive run with a convincing 3-0 win over Aston Villa on Sunday, while Southampton remain rooted to the foot of the table, still reeling from controversy after a frustrating 1-1 draw at Brighton on Friday.
After their dominant victory over Villa, Chelsea’s strong title credentials are starting to make waves, with some whispers suggesting they could be contenders. The Blues have been one of the most impressive teams in the league, second only to Liverpool, with their latest win keeping them tied with Arsenal in points, with only alphabetical order separating them in the table.
Chelsea's attacking players are all firing, and they finally kept a clean sheet in the league for the first time since mid-September. It's been a perfect run for the Blues, who are proving their critics wrong and living up to the expectations of their project under Enzo Maresca.
However, both Maresca and star player Cole Palmer have played down talk of a title challenge, acknowledging that it’s still early days in their development, with many players still settling in.
This midweek match gives Chelsea a great chance to move into second place outright, especially with Arsenal facing a tough test against Manchester United. Chelsea have been flawless on the road against teams in the bottom half of the table, winning all four of their away games so far. With Southampton struggling badly this season, Chelsea will be the heavy favorites on paper.
However, Southampton have shown they can compete with the big teams, having lost only twice in their last seven league encounters with Chelsea, including a memorable league double over them during Chelsea’s relegation campaign in 2022-23.
Russell Martin’s side will take some confidence from their spirited 1-1 draw at Brighton on Friday, particularly after a controversial VAR decision disallowed what could have been a winning goal from Cameron Archer.
This came on the back of a narrow 3-2 defeat to Liverpool just a few days earlier, where they showed plenty of promise. But despite these solid performances, Southampton's lack of results continues to be a major issue, with their 1-0 home win over Everton still their only victory this season.
Things don’t get any easier for the Saints, with Chelsea and Tottenham both visiting St Mary's in the coming weeks, plus tough away trips to Villa and Fulham before Christmas. The odds are stacked against them, with Opta giving Southampton a 94% chance of relegation based on their current form.
Their struggles are backed up by the stats, Southampton have scored the fewest goals in the league, made the most errors leading to shots and goals, and lost possession in their defensive third more than any other team.
It's no surprise that manager Russell Martin has faced criticism, as his side desperately needs to tighten up and start finding results if they’re to avoid the drop.
INJURIES & SUSPENSIONS
Southampton could be missing as many as 11 players for their clash with Chelsea due to a mix of injuries, suspensions, and ineligibility. Three players Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Tyler Dibling, and Flynn Downes are banned after picking up bookings last Friday, while Lesley Ugochukwu is also unavailable to face his parent club. Midfielders Will Smallbone and Adam Lallana are both ruled out with thigh injuries.
Goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale is still sidelined, so Joe Lumley will likely keep his place after making his Premier League debut at 29 on Friday, replacing Alex McCarthy, who struggled and made a costly error in the loss to Liverpool.
Chelsea, meanwhile, will be without defender Wesley Fofana for the next four to five weeks due to a hamstring injury he picked up in Sunday’s win over Villa. He joins Reece James on the injury list, with the right-back also sidelined with a hamstring issue. However, manager Enzo Maresca has the rest of his squad available, with Malo Gusto and Pedro Neto both returning over the weekend.
With Chelsea rotating players in cup competitions, their league lineup should still be relatively fresh. While there may be minimal changes to the starting XI, one possible alteration could be Noni Madueke, who was surprisingly left out of the team against Villa.
POSSIBLE LINE-UPS
Southampton possible starting lineup:
Lumley; Sugawara, Walker-Peters, Wood, Stephens, Manning; Fraser, Aribo, Mateus Fernandes, Armstrong; Archer
Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Sanchez; Gusto, Badiashile, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Enzo; Madueke, Palmer, Neto; Jackson
EXPERT PREDICTION
Southampton 1-3 Chelsea
Southampton have shown some improvement in recent weeks, but their style of play tends to leave them vulnerable at the back, and Chelsea have been ruthless in attack this season. With their key players in top form, especially Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson, this looks like a perfect opportunity for them to add to their tally and potentially push Chelsea into second place on their own.
