Southampton vs Chelsea: Preview, team news, how to watch and prediction

Chelsea will travel to Saint Mary’s Stadium to face off against newly promoted side Southampton in the Premier League on Wednesday evening.

The Blues struggled to showcase their best since the change of their ownership a few years ago. They were criticised heavily for their transfer policy but following Enzo Maresca’s arrival as the new manager ahead of this season, the West London club have been showing clear signs of improvement this term.

They have accumulated the same number of points as the second-placed and title contender Arsenal at the moment. So, they have sneaked into the conversation about whether they are a real title challenger this season. But, Maresca has debunked that and has said that his primary objective for this season is to rebuild the squad.

Chelsea have lost only two games in the Premier League thus far this season and those defeats came against Liverpool and Manchester City. The Reds are currently at the summit of the table with 34 points from 13 games, with the Blues nine points back in third.

The Stamford Bridge club have been displaying promising performances in the Conference League as well and are currently top of the table in this competition having won all four games.

Chelsea have won the last three consecutive matches and will be coming into this fixture following a comfortable 3-0 victory over Aston Villa last weekend.

On the other hand, Southampton have been struggling to adapt to the Premier League after gaining promotion. They are languishing at the bottom of the table with five points from 13 games.

The South Coast side have only won one game but they will be coming into this game off the back of a confidence-boosting 1-1 draw against fourth-placed Brighton and Hove Albion at AMEX Stadium.

Previous meetings

Southampton were relegated in the 2022/23 season but they won both games against Chelsea in that season. The Blues endured a dire campaign that term, finishing 12th in the league.

But, before that, Chelsea thrashed the Saints 6-0 in 2022 so the West London club will be hoping to replicate a result like that in this midweek fixture.

How to watch

The game will kick off at 7:30pm UK time and the match will be televised live on Amazon Prime Video in the UK.

Alternatively, fans can also watch the game live in person by buying Chelsea tickets online and have a seat in the stands at St Mary’s Stadium.

Team news

Southampton have a host of absentees ahead of this fixture as Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Tyler Dibling and Flynn Downes are all suspended having picked up the fifth booking of this season last time out against Brighton. Moreover, Lesley Ugochukwu isn’t eligible to feature in this game as he is on loan from Chelsea and can’t play against his parent club.

In addition, Will Smallbone, Adam Lallana, and Aaron Ramsdale are also set to miss out on this game due to their respective injury problems.

As for Chelsea, Wesley Fofana sustained a hamstring issue in the win over Aston Villa last weekend and as a result, he is set to remain sidelined over the next few weeks. Therefore, he isn’t in contention to feature in this game. So, the Frenchman joins Reece James on the treatment table.

Predicted line-ups

Russell Martin is likely to deploy a 5-4-1 formation with Joe Lumley set to continue between the sticks. So, Alex McCarthy would remain on the bench following a disappointing display against Liverpool.

Kyle Walker-Peters, Jack Stephens and Nathan Wood would be the back three with Yukinari Sugawara and Ryan Manning likely to be the two wing-backs.

Mateus Fernandes and Joe Aribo could be the midfield pivot, while Adam Armstrong and Ryan Fraser are likely to be the two wingers. Cameron Archer is expected to be leading the line for the hosts.

Expected Southampton line-up vs Chelsea

Lumley; Sugawara, Walker-Peters, Stephens, Wood, Manning; Armstrong, Aribo, Fernandes, Fraser; Archer

For Chelsea, Maresca is expected to continue with his preferred 4-2-3-1 formation and Robert Sanchez is likely to continue in goal. In front of the Spaniard, Tosin Adarabioyo could be called upon to start alongside Levi Colwill in defence. So, Benoit Badiashile might have to settle for a place on the bench.

Malo Gusto should commence in the right-back position, while Marc Cucurella could be on the opposite side for the West London club.

Moises Caicedo is likely to be in the deep-lying playmaker position alongside Enzo Fernandez, therefore, Romeo Lavia would return to the bench after starting last weekend.

Cole Palmer is set to continue in the attacking midfield position following a promising display last time out. Jadon Sancho may keep hold of his place on the left flank, while Noni Madueke could return to the starting eleven after commencing on the bench last time out. Therefore, Pedro Neto is expected to be among the substitutes alongside Joao Félix.

Nicolas Jackson would be in the centre-forward position and in that case, Christopher Nkunku will have to make do with a place on the bench.

Expected Chelsea line-up vs Southampton

Sanchez; Gusto, Adarabioyo, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernández, Palmer; Madueke, Jackson, Sancho

Key players

Armstrong is the top scorer for Southampton along with Archer with two goals. The duo will have to be clinical in front of the goal to come away with a positive result from this encounter.

The Saints’ back five and the goalkeeper will have to be at the top of their game to keep a clean-sheet. If they can manage to do that then their chance of winning this game will increase.

As for Chelsea, Palmas has continued to shine this season having displayed impressive performances last term after joining the club from Manchester City last year. In 13 league appearances, the Englishman has scored eight goals and registered six assists this campaign. Therefore, the onus will be on him to create opportunities for fellow attackers and finish those off when he gets any.

Jackson is the joint top scorer with Palmer for Chelsea thus far this season in the Premier League so the hosts will have to find a way to stop the Senegalese international to come away with a positive result from this encounter.

Prediction

Goal-scoring has been an issue for Southampton thus far this season, scoring only 10 goals in 13 Premier League games so they will have to improve in this area to survive relegation.

Chelsea will come into this game as a huge favourite and the Blues have been pretty consistent this season. So, it will be a big shock if they fail to earn all three points from this encounter.

Nevertheless, it is going to be interesting to see how the game eventually unfolds on the night. Southampton 0-3 Chelsea