Comments and predictions for Southampton vs Chelsea: Overwhelming underdogs

Chelsea, who are in good form, travel to the south of England to face Southampton, who are bottom of the Premier League, on Wednesday evening.

Chelsea, led by coach Enzo Maresca, continued their impressive run of form with a convincing win over the weekend. Meanwhile, home team Southampton remain bottom of the table after a controversial match on Friday.

Latest Southampton vs Chelsea squad information

Southampton are facing a squad crunch, with up to 11 players facing injury, suspension and ineligibility. The bookings of Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Tyler Dibling and Flynn Downes on Friday have resulted in suspensions, while Lesley Ugochukwu is unavailable due to a clash with parent club Chelsea.

Will Smallbone and Adam Lallana, both with thigh injuries, are doubtful, while the goalkeeper position remains a concern with Aaron Ramsdale still not back. Joe Lumley, who made his Premier League debut at the age of 29 on Friday, is expected to start again after replacing Alex McCarthy, who made a serious error in the defeat to Liverpool.

Chelsea defender Wesley Fofana is set to miss four to five weeks after picking up a hamstring injury in Sunday's win over Aston Villa. Fofana joins Reece James, who is also nursing a hamstring injury. However, manager Enzo Maresca still has the bulk of his squad at his disposal following the return of Malo Gusto and Pedro Neto over the weekend.

Chelsea have been able to keep their Premier League squad fit with regular rotation in cup competitions, so there are likely to be few changes for the trip to St Mary's. However, Noni Madueke, who was surprisingly left out of the squad last time out, is likely to be brought back into the starting line-up.

Latest predicted lineup Southampton vs Chelsea

Southampton:

Lumley; Sugawara, Walker-Peters, Wood, Stephens, Manning; Fraser, Aribo, Mateus Fernandes, Armstrong; Archer

Chelsea:

Sanchez; Gusto, Badiashile, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Enzo; Madueke, Palmer, Neto; Jackson

Latest Southampton vs Chelsea football review

Chelsea continue to prove they are one of the most impressive teams in the Premier League, behind only Liverpool – who are the clear leaders. Sunday’s win puts Chelsea level on points with Arsenal in second place, just behind their rivals in the alphabetical order.

With a blistering attack and a first clean sheet in the league since mid-September, it was a perfect afternoon for Enzo Maresca's side, as Chelsea not only put to rest pre-season doubts but also showed convincing consistency.

However, both coach Maresca and star Cole Palmer denied the possibility of competing for the title after the match, stressing that this is only the first year of their project, and the players are still gradually adapting.

This midweek game is a good chance for Chelsea to move up to second place in the table, with Arsenal facing a tough test against Manchester United. Chelsea have won all four away games against teams in the bottom half of the table this season, and with 10 defeats from 13 games, Southampton should be easy on paper.

However, the home team Southampton has a good head-to-head record against Chelsea, losing just two of their last seven meetings. Notably, they completed a double against Chelsea in the 2022-23 season, when the team was relegated.

Despite finishing bottom of the table, Southampton showed commendable spirit in a 1-1 draw with Brighton on Friday. However, frustration reigned after the game as manager Russell Martin expressed his anger at the VAR decision to rule out Cameron Archer's goal.

This was the second consecutive game in which Southampton have performed impressively, following a narrow 3-2 defeat to Liverpool just five days earlier. However, their luck has not been kind to them, with their only win of the season so far coming in a 1-0 win over Everton.

Southampton's upcoming fixtures are not easy either, as they have to host Chelsea and Tottenham at St Mary's, before travelling to Aston Villa and Fulham - two teams competing for European tickets.

Southampton face a 94% chance of relegation, according to Opta. The statistics show why: they have scored the fewest goals, made the most errors leading to shots and goals, and lost possession in defensive areas more often than any other team – something for which manager Martin has been heavily criticised.

Southampton vs Chelsea score prediction

Based on the above football comments, we and the world's leading football sites have given the following results for the Southampton vs Chelsea match:

• Sportsmole: Southampton 1-4 Chelsea

• WhoScore: Southampton 0-2 Chelsea
• Our prediction: Southampton 1-3 Chelsea

When and where to watch Southampton vs Chelsea live?

To watch the live match Southampton vs Chelsea in the Premier League taking place at 2:30 on December 5, viewers can watch on K+ Sport, K+PM or online sports channels. Wish you all have fun watching football.

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