Chelsea host Southampton at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, hoping to get back on track after back-to-back losses to Manchester City and Juventus.
The Blues appeared unstoppable a week ago, but they were defeated 1-0 at home by City last Saturday and then by the same scoreline in Turin in the Champions League midweek.
Team news
Chelsea
• N’Golo Kante has been ruled out of Chelsea’s squad after testing positive for COVID-19 earlier this week.
• Mason Mount is set to return to the matchday squad on Saturday, and Chelsea have been without him for the past two games.
• Given the short time between games, Thiago Silva should be rested. Trevoh Chalobah has a good opportunity to start here with Cesar Azpilicueta necessary at right-back due to the absence of Reece James.
• After Marcos Alonso was sent off at half-time, Ben Chilwell will almost certainly make his first Premier League debut of the season.
Southampton
• Armando Broja wasn’t anticipated to start anyhow, but owing to the conditions of his loan agreement, he is ineligible here.
• Southampton, on the other hand, signed Chelsea’s Valentino Livramento outright, and he will start against his boyhood club.
• Moussa Djenepo is fighting for a start and might take over on the left wing from Nathan Redmond. Stuart Armstrong and Theo Walcott have returned to training.
Prediction
• Chelsea has lost back-to-back games, albeit against Manchester City and Juventus, but the fact that they have only managed one shot on target in both meetings is concerning.
• Southampton needed penalties to beat Sheffield United in the League Cup after three straight draws, and then lost 1-0 at home to Wolves last weekend.
• Southampton has previously drawn Manchester City and Manchester United this season, so they should not be overlooked.
• Chelsea, on the other hand, haven’t lost three games in a row since October 2015 and are the clear favorites.
After a difficult week, Chelsea need to bounce back. They should have too much for Southampton.
Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Mendy; Rudiger, Christensen, Chalobah; Chilwell, Jorginho, Kovacic, Azpilicueta; Werner, Mount, Lukaku
Southampton possible starting lineup:
McCarthy; Livramento, Bednarek, Salisu, Walker-Peters; Elyounoussi, Romeu, Ward-Prowse, Djenepo; Adams, Armstrong
Our Prediction: Chelsea 2 – 0 Southampton
The Blues appeared unstoppable a week ago, but they were defeated 1-0 at home by City last Saturday and then by the same scoreline in Turin in the Champions League midweek.
Team news
Chelsea
• N’Golo Kante has been ruled out of Chelsea’s squad after testing positive for COVID-19 earlier this week.
• Mason Mount is set to return to the matchday squad on Saturday, and Chelsea have been without him for the past two games.
• Given the short time between games, Thiago Silva should be rested. Trevoh Chalobah has a good opportunity to start here with Cesar Azpilicueta necessary at right-back due to the absence of Reece James.
• After Marcos Alonso was sent off at half-time, Ben Chilwell will almost certainly make his first Premier League debut of the season.
Southampton
• Armando Broja wasn’t anticipated to start anyhow, but owing to the conditions of his loan agreement, he is ineligible here.
• Southampton, on the other hand, signed Chelsea’s Valentino Livramento outright, and he will start against his boyhood club.
• Moussa Djenepo is fighting for a start and might take over on the left wing from Nathan Redmond. Stuart Armstrong and Theo Walcott have returned to training.
Prediction
• Chelsea has lost back-to-back games, albeit against Manchester City and Juventus, but the fact that they have only managed one shot on target in both meetings is concerning.
• Southampton needed penalties to beat Sheffield United in the League Cup after three straight draws, and then lost 1-0 at home to Wolves last weekend.
• Southampton has previously drawn Manchester City and Manchester United this season, so they should not be overlooked.
• Chelsea, on the other hand, haven’t lost three games in a row since October 2015 and are the clear favorites.
After a difficult week, Chelsea need to bounce back. They should have too much for Southampton.
Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Mendy; Rudiger, Christensen, Chalobah; Chilwell, Jorginho, Kovacic, Azpilicueta; Werner, Mount, Lukaku
Southampton possible starting lineup:
McCarthy; Livramento, Bednarek, Salisu, Walker-Peters; Elyounoussi, Romeu, Ward-Prowse, Djenepo; Adams, Armstrong
Our Prediction: Chelsea 2 – 0 Southampton