Southampton vs Chelsea

St Mary’s Stadium forms the backdrop for a tasty-looking Premier League match-up between Southampton and Chelsea.

Though there was a feeling that Southampton deserved more in their 1-0 home loss to Manchester United at the weekend, there is no denying that the ‘Saints’ are bracing themselves for another season-long fight in the bottom half of the Premier League table. Manager Ralph Hasenhuttl is familiar with Southampton’s current state, as he has failed to steer his side to a top-half finish in any of his last four seasons at the helm. Playing in midweek has not been Southampton’s strong suit of late. They have managed just three victories across their previous 20 Premier League midweek outings (D7, L10). Their abysmal midweek record could get worse, considering they are up against a Chelsea side they’ve failed to beat in any of their last nine Premier League H2Hs at St Mary’s (D2, L7).

As for Chelsea, Raheem Sterling notched up a second-half double to fire Thomas Tuchel’s 10-man side to a crucial 2-1 home win over Leicester City at the weekend, helping his new team bounce back from a horrendous 3-0 defeat at Leeds United. The ‘Pensioners’ are now staring down the barrel of back-to-back Premier League losses away from home for the first time since December 2020. There’s a good chance they can avoid that feat after finding the net in each of their last 17 Premier League visits to Southampton, including an emphatic 6-0 victory in this corresponding fixture in 2021/22. With Chelsea’s previous four away league matches yielding wins or defeats ‘to nil,’ scoring first could prove priceless at St Mary’s this midweek.