Southampton vs Chelsea: EPL Previews, odds and Predictions

Wednesday night's Premier League matchup pits Chelsea, who are currently on a roll, against Southampton, who are currently in last place.

Despite the hosts' best efforts to recover from Friday's drama, Enzo Maresca's team kept rolling with another impressive victory over the weekend.

Previous Matches and Head-to-head

After Sunday's 3-0 victory against Aston Villa, rumors about Chelsea's potential championship run have circulated slightly.

With Sunday's victory, Maresca's side remains tied second with Arsenal; the Gunners are the only club in the league to have an advantage over them other than alphabetical order. Liverpool is the clear leader in the Premier League, but Maresca's players have been just as spectacular.

The Blues had a glorious day as they continued to ridicule those who doubted them before the season. Their offensive players were on fire, and they kept a clean sheet for the first time since mid-September.

Maresca and star player Cole Palmer denied rumors that they would be contending for the championship after Sunday's game. Palmer, in particular, acknowledged that it would be difficult since their project is in its first year and players are still adjusting.

But with Arsenal facing a difficult test against Manchester United in midweek, they will have a great chance to get into second place overall.

On paper, Southampton seems like a beneficial opponent for Chelsea, given that they have won all four away games this season against teams in the bottom half. However, Southampton has only managed ten losses out of thirteen games played.

The hosts, on the other hand, have a solid record against Chelsea lately, losing just twice in seven encounters and sweeping the series in 2022–23 before Chelsea's relegation.

Even though they lost 1–1 to Brighton & Hove Albion on Friday, Russell Martin's team still has much to be proud of from their energetic performance.

In the aftermath, however, tempers flared; Martin was irate because VAR had controversially denied a goal that would have given Cameron Archer the victory.

The Saints had a near-miss with Liverpool five days before, losing by a score of 3-2. Therefore, this was their second strong showing in as many days.

The 1-0 home victory over Everton is their lone triumph of the season; results have not been going their way.

St. Mary's hosts Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur, and Martin's squad must travel to Fulham and European contenders Aston Villa before the holiday break.

Opta has Southampton relegated 94% of the time, suggesting the team will have an extremely difficult time climbing out of its current precarious position. It is now four points behind the playoff cutoff.

Southampton has the worst goal-scoring record in the Premier League, but that's not all: They've committed more mistakes that have resulted in shots and goals, and they've lost possession of the ball more frequently than any other team—an issue that Martin has personally been criticized for.

Southampton x Chelsea Team News

With Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Tyler Dibling, and Flynn Downes all receiving bans for their Friday bookings, Southampton might need fewer than eleven players owing to injuries, suspensions, or ineligibility.

Two midfielders, Will Smallbone and Adam Lallana, are ruled out with thigh ailments, while Lesley Ugochukwu is also unable to play against his native club.

With Aaron Ramsdale out with an injury, Joe Lumley, who made his Premier League debut on Friday at 29, should continue in goal. McCarthy, who made a major mistake and seemed uneasy in Friday's loss to Liverpool, was substituted.

Chelsea defender Wesley Fofana hurt his hamstring in Sunday's victory against Villa and will be out for four or five weeks.

After the weekend returns of Malo Gusto and Pedro Neto, Maresca has the remainder of his team at his disposal, with the exception of Fofana, who joins Reece James on the sidelines due to a hamstring injury.

There could be minimal lineup changes at St. Mary's owing to Chelsea's ability to rotate in cup games, which means their league XI should still be fresh. However, Noni Madueke might appear after being unexpectedly benched last weekend.

Our Predictions

Chelsea to win and over 2.5 goals @ 1.63 on Sky247.ng

Southampton has made some strides forward lately, but they still allow too many goals due to their style of play, and Chelsea has been unstoppable up front this year.

Palmer and Nicolas Jackson, in particular, will see this as a fantastic chance to refuel their engines and, with any luck, propel Chelsea into second place, given that all of their major players are in superb form.

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