Chelsea vs Southampton 26/12/19

26 December 2019

The two sides that have had identical returns from their last four Premier League (PL) fixtures (W2, L2) will face off at Stamford Bridge on Boxing Day when Chelsea take on Southampton.

A stunning 2-0 away win over Tottenham has seen Chelsea bounce back after back-to-back PL defeats and preserve a four-point lead over fifth-placed Sheffield United. Another success here would see the hosts post two straight top-flight triumphs since October. However, the Blues have endured mixed fortunes in their last four PL home outings (W2, L2), with only one of those fixtures seeing both teams score and producing over 2.5 goals. They have, however, racked up a four-game unbeaten home run in competitive H2Hs with Southampton (W3, D1), shutting the Saints out in three of their last competitive meetings held here. If Chelsea win here, they will probably open the scoring and add another goal, given that five of their six competitive home wins this season have seen them find the opener and net precisely two-match goals.

Meanwhile, it has been ‘all or nothing’ for the visitors in the recent period, as they’ve won three of their last five top-flight fixtures, losing the remaining two. Curiously, four of those matches have seen the winners on the day concede precisely one goal, with three of them ending with the identical 2-1 scoreline. But, the Saints have failed to impress on the road recently, suffering three defeats in their last six PL away games (W1, D2, L3), with each of those matches seeing both teams hit the net. Also, it will be a daunting task for Southampton to keep a clean sheet here, as they’ve conceded at least one goal in seven successive road trips in all competitions ahead of this clash, allowing over 1.5 match goals in five of those games.