Chelsea will look to put behind their recent run of poor results when they host Southampton at the Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon.
Thomas Tuchel, Manager of Chelsea interacts with Jorginho of Chelsea following the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on September 19, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
The Blues are without a win in their last three games for games ending in 90 minutes. They were beaten by Manchester City last weekend at home and suffered another loss in the mid-week, a 1-0 defeat to Juventus in the Champions league.
After their sensational start to the season, Chelsea will rue the absence of the likes of Mason Mount, Christian Pulisic and Reece James in the two defeats and may have to continue without these players along with N’Golo Kanté, who is currently in isolation after testing positive for Covid-19.
They are also without a win in their last three meetings with the Saint, drawing in the last two and losing 2-0 in the game before, after remaining unbeaten in nine fixture that preceded against the Saints.
Southampton have been below par this season and have just four draws from six games. They have however picked up draws in games against the two Manchester clubs and that will be positives to look forward to heading into the clash with the European champions.
Jack Stephens is out until new year while Stuart Amstrong is a doubt. William Smallbone continues his recovery from long term injury and Armando Broja is not eligible to play against his parent club.
Predicted line-ups
Chelsea: Mendy, Alonso, Rudiger, Christensen, Azpilicueta, Hudson-Odoi, Jorginho, Kovacic, Havertz, Werner, Lukaku.
Southampton: McCarthy, Walker-Peters, Salisu, Bednarek, Livramento, Romeu, Ward-Prowse, Elyounoussi, Redmond, Adams, Adam Amstrong.
Afolabi Kehinde Hassan
