Southampton vs Chelsea – English Premier League – Preview

Posted on October 30, 2016 by Sreya

Southampton vs Chelsea – Chelsea travel to St. Mary’s Stadium on 30th October, Sunday to face Southampton in an English Premier League fixture.

Chelsea are one point away from the coveted ‘top four’ as Antonio Conte’s side are on the fifth position with nineteen points. Southampton are ninth in league standings with thirteen points.

Chelsea’s 4-0 win against Manchester United last Sunday re-affirmed Antonio Conte’s status as one of the astute tacticians of the modern game, but their 2-1 loss at West Ham in the League Cup in midweek marred the atmosphere at Cobham.

While Southampton executed a brilliant 1-1 draw to hold Manchester City at the Etihad in their last game, they are unbeaten in their previous five league matches.

Team News

Florin Gardos, Jeremy Pied, Cedric Soares and Shane Long are sidelined through injuries while Matt Targett and Ryan Bertrand will face late fitness tests. Chelsea’s only injury concerns include Marco van Ginkel and the unfit Kurt Zouma.

Southampton Possible Starting Lineup: Fraser Forster, Cuco Martina, Jose Fonte, Virgil van Dijk, Sam McQueen, Jordy Clasie, Oriol Romeu, Steven Davis, Dusan Tadic, Charlie Austin, Sofiane Boufal.

Chelsea Possible Starting Lineup: Thibaut Courtois, Cesar Azilicueta, David Luiz, Gary Cahill, Victor Moses, N’Golo Kante, Nemanja Matic, Marcos Alonso, Willian, Diego Costa, Eden Hazard.

“There are five teams who are very close but we shouldn’t look at the table, we must be focused on our work on the pitch. It’s too early to talk about the table or the title. We must improve game by game and trust in the work, that’s the most important thing.”

– Antonio Conte, Chelsea.

Contributor’s Pick

According to Southampton vs Chelsea H2H stats, Chelsea have won two and lost one of their last five English Premier League matches against Southampton.

Southampton are undefeated in their last nine home matches in the Premier League and will be a formidable opponent for the Blues. A 1-1 draw is the most likely outcome of this match.