Southampton vs Chelsea: Fitness updates on key men for both sides ahead of Premier League meeting

Southampton host Chelsea on Sunday afternoon in what could prove to be an intriguing Premier League encounter.

Ahead of the game though, both sides have some significant team news that could mean the difference between a win and a loss.

For Saints, Cedric and Moussa Djenepo are ruled out of the game completely, whilst Che Adams is likely to return to the matchday squad after being rested against Spurs.

In his pre-match press conference on Friday, Ralph Hasenhuttl said:

"“He (Cedric) really tried to do it against Tottenham but after the warm-up the problem was too big. It’s a calf injury. Ché (Adams) has played every game until the last game. And also played 90 minutes against Portsmouth. It was clear that I needed to give him a rest. Sometimes a break can help, even if you are like him, where he always wants to play. This week he’s in better condition and is clearer in the mind. He can be an option for Sunday, yes.”"

The Saints boss also explained that Djenepo’s issue sees an issue when he goes to shoot, with his complaint seemingly being a complex one to manage.

After two special goals in away wins against Brighton and Sheffield United, the Malian is a big miss for Saints and it will be up to other attacking players to produce the goods in his absence once more.

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Leaving Adams out of the squad for a rest last Saturday could prove to be great man-management from Hasenhuttl, but it is a real positive to hear that the striker is itching to be back involved despite his goalless start to the campaign.

With Cedric also out, it will be interesting to see whether Hasenhuttl brings Yan Valery back into the starting line-up after deciding to leave him out last weekend.

This would be the natural move and bring back some balance to the team with Saints wanting to be positive and get a result in front of their home fans.

Chelsea’s only fitness issue during their Champions League meeting with Lille in midweek involved midfielder N’Golo Kante.

An ankle injury had kept the Frenchman out of four games but it appears that he will be in contention to start against Saints tomorrow.

Chelsea boss Frank Lampard says that he and his backroom will keep an eye on Kante’s recovery from Wednesday evening, but that the early signs are that he has had no more problems.

Sunday will see Saints looking for only their second home win over Chelsea since returning to the Premier League; the last a 2-1 victory back in 2013 when Jay Rodriguez and Rickie Lambert were on the scoresheet.