Chelsea will be eager to keep pace with the early frontrunners in the Premier League title race when Southampton visit Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Thomas Tuchel’s side currently sit third in the table – one point behind first-place Liverpool – having taken 13 points from a possible 18 this term.
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At the opposite end of the standings, Saints find themselves sixteenth – nine points shy of Chelsea – after picking up just four points this season.
Chelsea claimed four wins and a draw from their opening five league games before suffering their first defeat of the campaign last weekend.
The Blues were dominated by Manchester City on home soil, failing to register a single shot on target on their way to losing 1-0.
Still, Tuchel’s men remain in a strong position and will be confident of returning to winning ways against struggling Southampton.
Having suffered a 1-0 loss to Juventus in the Champions League on Wednesday, the Blues will be even more eager to claim all three points this weekend.
Southampton, meanwhile, lost their opening game of the season before going on a run of four straight draws.
They returned to losing ways last weekend, however. Despite dominated possession and notching 18 shots, they ended up losing 1-0 to Wolves at St. Mary’s.
Having netted just four goals across their opening six matches, Southampton are the third-lowest scorers in the division.
Worryingly, they have failed to score in each of their past three Premier League games and have only managed to win four of their previous 27.
That said, they have only conceded seven goals this term – meaning only seven sides have a better defensive record than Saints.
Head-to-head: Southampton have only managed to win one of their previous 12 meetings with Chelsea in all competitions.
However, Saints managed to hold the Blues to back-to-back draws last term. Following a 3-3 draw at Stamford Bridge, the two sides drew 1-1 on the south coast.
Team news: N’Golo Kante (coronavirus) and Reece James (ankle) are currently unavailable for Chelsea, while Mason Mount and Christian Pulisic are both doubts.
Southampton will be without Stuart Armstrong (calf), Jack Stephens (knee) and Will Smallbone (knee) on Saturday, while there are also question marks over the fitness of Theo Walcott.
Considering the contrasting early-season form of these two sides, Chelsea are expected to cruise to a comfortable victory at Stamford Bridge.
Forebet predicts that Chelsea will score over 2.5 goals on their way to overcoming Saints, while a clean sheet is also on the cards for the hosts.