Southampton vs. Chelsea (FA Cup): Saints looking for redemption in semi-finals

Visiting Wembley for the second time in two seasons via cup competition, Southampton will be looking to make a mark to counter their Premier League woes, when they face an underachieving Chelsea side this Sunday.

The two sides met just less than a week ago now, where a somewhat-revitalised Southampton put Chelsea to the sword for the best part of 60 minutes, having gone 2-0 up at home, looked likely to hold a rare lead and gather their first three-point helping since late November – however, what followed was a blue comeback, led by French striker Olivier Giroud who scored a brace, along with an Eden Hazard goal, the visitors left victors, 3-2 the final score.

This had only left Saints more wounded, with it creating a massive dent in their relegation survival hopes, it means the unthinkable scenario of dropping to the Championship look even more likely and therefore – this weekend’s game has become a way of making light of a very bad situation for those involved with the club.

For Chelsea, this was a way of keeping the pressure on Tottenham Hotspur, in their pursuit of 4th place in the Premier League – and therefore Champions League qualification, though this still looks to be some way off with Chelsea having had abysmal form since the turn of the year.

Many of you could say that the London club were fortunate to come out of this game with the win, given how Marcos Alonso should have seen red in the first half for what was an awful, frustrated tackle on Southampton striker Shane Long – and a solid first half from Mark Hughes’ men on the day. However, Chelsea’s quality showed just after the 60th minute mark in which they proved their worth in clinical finishing, guts and determination – this could be a feature of the game on Sunday if Saints decide to take their foot off the gas.

Why Southampton Will Win

Mentioned before, with Southampton having had an atrocious Premier League campaign, this is a way of redemption for Mark Hughes’ men, as well as way of building up some much needed confidence or fight in amongst the squad – the talent in which the south-coast club posses should not be in this type of situation, though due to some poor decision making behind the scenes, it would seem motivation levels are poor.

More from Saints Marching

• Grading the Southampton Transfer Window Part 2: Arrivals
• Grading the Southampton Transfer Window Part 1: Departures
• It’s time to talk about Gavin Bazunu
• Rain clouds on the horizon? Southampton beat Plymouth Argyle
• A lament for Southampton legend James Ward-Prowse

Last seasons final disappointment in the EFL cup could also be another motivator for some of the current crop of players, having lost 3-2 to Manchester United by the skin of the teeth – you could hope that the players will want to turn up and put in 100% across the whole pitch, though it’s difficult to know how Southampton will turn up until the game starts.

Chelsea could also be in the same boat though when it comes to complete commitment from their players, in that some have-seemed-to have fallen out with current manager Antonio Conte – their form somewhat off for the past four months now in which they have given up easy results and gotten complacent from time to time – an aspect that Saints could take advantage of.

Why Chelsea Will Win

The Blues have a similar story to Southampton in that they have underperformed, it looks as if the London-side will be finishing outside the top 4, and thus not advance onto the Champions League, which has always been an important target for those involved at Chelsea since Roman Abramovich’s takeover in 2003 – thus to advance to the final in the FA cup, with the look of winning would help clean the smear of their season too.

With the potential departure of Antonio Conte looking more imminent by every poor result, the Italian manager could have his eye on this weekend, in the hope of leaving a mark on his somewhat-short tenure at Stamford Bridge – the former Juve manager made it to the final last season to then lose to Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal despite being favourites to win.

The main reason why Chelsea will win though is down the quality of their players, with the likes of Eden Hazard, N’Golo Kante and Willian (Just to name a few), within their ranks – they could easily cause Southampton problems across the pitch when going forward or defending, it would not be surprising for the London-club to be favourites for this game, and to therefore go on and win it off individual ability.

Predicted Line-Ups

Southampton:

Goalkeeper: Alex McCarthy

Defence: Cedric Soares, Maya Yoshida, Wesley Hoedt, Jan Bedernak, Ryan Bertrand

Midfield: Pierre-Emile Højbjerg, Oriol Romeu, James Ward-Prowse, Dusan Tadic

Attackers: Shane Long

Chelsea:

Goalkeeper: Thibaut Courtois

Defence: Victor Moses, Gary Cahill, Cesar Azpilicueta, Andreas Christensen, Davide Zappacosta

Midfield: N’Golo Kante, Cesc Fabregas

Attackers: Eden Hazard, Alvaro Morata, Willian

Score Prediction:

Southampton 2-1 Chelsea