Southampton will be hoping to end a run of six straight Premier League defeats when Chelsea visit St. Mary’s on Saturday afternoon.
Four straight wins have seen the Blues climb back up to fourth in the table – 13 points ahead of thirteenth-place Southampton.
A sprinkling of @TimoWerner stardust when we faced Southampton earlier this season! ✨😍 pic.twitter.com/HR8N061MKI— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) February 17, 2021
A sprinkling of @TimoWerner stardust when we faced Southampton earlier this season! ✨😍 pic.twitter.com/HR8N061MKI
Saints started the season in strong fashion, losing just four of their opening 17 league games, with many starting to believe that a European place was attainable.
However, after beating Liverpool in their first game of 2021, Southampton have suffered six consecutive defeats in the Premier League.
Saints have conceded 20 goals during that period, with a 9-0 thrashing at the hands of Manchester United coming at the beginning of February.
Worse still, Southampton have only managed to score four goals since beating Liverpool. Needless to say, Ralph Hasenhuttl will be looking for a response from his players this weekend.
Meanwhile, Thomas Tuchel’s unbeaten start as Chelsea manager was extended by a comfortable 2-0 victory over Newcastle last time out.
Following a goalless draw with Wolves, the Blues have won four straight matches in the Premier League.
Since Tuchel took over, Chelsea have also kept four clean sheets in their five league games, scoring over 1.5 goals on three occasions.
After enduring a tricky spell, Timo Werner finally broke his goal drought last weekend, netting Chelsea’s second against the Magpies.
Chelsea are now just four points behind third-place Leicester City and second-place Manchester United, although Manchester City are out of reach.
Head-to-head: Chelsea and Southampton produced a thrilling 3-3 draw in the reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge back in October.
After failing to beat Chelsea in nine attempts between 2016 and 2019, Saints are now unbeaten in their previous two meetings with the Blues.
Team news: Southampton’s injury problems are finally starting to ease, although Theo Walcott, Kyle Walker-Peters, Michael Obafemi and Will Smallbone are all still sidelined.
As for Chelsea, Tammy Abraham and Thiago Silva are both expected to miss Saturday’s game, while Kai Havertz is also a doubt.
At the end of the day, it is difficult to ignore the contrasting form of these two sides. Southampton are on a wretched run, while Chelsea are flying under Tuchel.
With that in mind, Forebet predicts that Chelsea will score over 2.5 goals on their way to victory on Saturday. A clean sheet is also looking likely for the away team.