Southampton will be looking to pull of a surprise result when they face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge tomorrow evening.
The Saints have suffered consecutive losses to West Ham and Manchester City and sit outside the relegation zone on goal difference alone after other results went against them.
On the other hand, Chelsea can consolidate their place in the Premier League’s top-four with a win on Wednesday night.
They did lose their last home game to Leicester City however and potentially showed weakness despite their otherwise strong form this season.
Goals can be expected in this fixture with no goalless draws in the previous 19 meetings between the two sides in all competitions
Team News
Chelsea will be without striker Olivier Giroud who has an ankle injury; possibly a positive for Saints with the Frenchman’s record of eight goals in six games against them.
Fellow first-team regulars Pedro, Cesc Fabregas and Ruben Loftus-Cheek are also set to remain unavailable.
Saints are set to be without influential midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg for the next four games after his red card against Manchester City.
Players such as Danny Ings, Jannik Vestergaard, Maya Yoshida, Stuart Armstrong and Nathan Redmond are set to return to the starting line-up after being rested last time out, whilst this game is likely to come too early for Ryan Bertrand.
Why Chelsea will win
Despite occasional slip-ups from time to time, the quality of the players at Maurizio Sarri’s disposal clearly makes his side a formidable force.
Eden Hazard in particular has again shown sparkling form this season and continues to keep himself right among football’s very best talents.
They have often been able to find a moment of quality to beat Saints in the past too; Marcos Alonso’s free-kick providing a 1-0 win for the Blues in this fixture in the last campaign.
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Why Southampton will win
Despite three losses in his first five games in charge, the Saints side seems to have much more about it under the guidance of Ralph Hasenhuttl.
A 3-2 victory over Arsenal in his first home game showed their ability to mix it with the top sides on their day and a number of their most important players will be fresh after being rested in preparation for this game.
Saints have also won three times at Stamford Bridge since the Premier League’s inception and will see Leicester City’s recent win there as inspiration.
Predicted Lineups
Chelsea
Goalkeeper: Kepa Arrizabalaga
Defenders: Cesar Azpilicueta, Antonio Rudiger, David Luiz, Marcos Alonso
Midfielders: N’Golo Kante, Jorginho, Mateo Kovacic
Forwards: Willian, Alvaro Morata, Eden Hazard
Southampton
Goalkeeper: Alex McCarthy
Defenders: Yan Valery, Jan Bednarek, Maya Yoshida, Jannik Vestergaard, Matt Targett
Midfielders: Nathan Redmond, Mario Lemina, Oriol Romeu, Stuart Armstrong
Forwards: Danny Ings