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A spirited Chelsea side travel to Southampton on Sunday as Maurizio Sarri aims to continue his unbeaten start. Although the Blues haven't tasted defeat in 10 matches, their previous two matches been draws - against West Ham and Liverpool.
Meanwhile, Southampton are facing their own struggles as they sit on 16th place, with just three wins since the start of 2018. They have not won any of their previous 25 matches against the 'big six' and thus, many would not place their bets on the Saints. Here's all you need to know ahead of the clash.
Southampton v Chelsea: Kickoff Information
Date: 7 October
Kickoff: 14:15 (GMT), 18:45 (IST)
Venue: St. Mary's Stadium
Southampton v Chelsea: Team News
Southampton:
Mark Hughes' side will be boosted by the return of a few of their players. Speaking ahead of the game, the former Stoke City boss claimed,
"Shane Long is back, he trained today. Moi Elyounoussi also trained today, Ryan Bertrand trained and Alex McCarthy also. They'll all be available as long as we don't see a reaction overnight."
Chelsea:
The visitors have a full-strength squad available. Regular first team stars in Jorginho, Cesar Azpilicueta, David Luiz, Antonio Rudiger and Marcos Alonso are expected to return.
Southampton v Chelsea: Probable Line-Ups
Southampton (4-4-2): McCarthy; Soares, Vestergaard, Hoedt, Bertrand; Lemina, Hojbjerg; Elyounoussi, Ings, Redmond; Austin
Chelsea (4-3-3): Arrizabalaga; Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Luiz, Alonso; Jorginho, Kovacic, Kante; Pedro, Hazard, Giroud
Southampton v Chelsea: Form Guide
Last 5 matches (in all competitions)
Southampton: D-L-L-D-W
Chelsea: W-D-W-D-W
Southampton v Chelsea: Head-to-Head
Southampton wins: 30
Chelsea wins: 44
Draws: 28
Southampton v Chelsea: Key Players
Southampton:
There's no denying that Danny Ings has been a silver lining in the Saints' dark cloud. With three goals from six matches, he is carrying the team on his shoulders at the moment. He will be required to do the same when Chelsea visit Hampshire on Sunday.
Chelsea:
Jorginho, Chelsea's gatekeeper in midfield, is the one to watch out for. With Southampton expected to sit deep and form layers of defence, the onus will be on him to pick the best passes and recycle possession. Also, he will have to sense counter-attacks and nullify them.
Southampton v Chelsea: Prediction
There is still a lot for Mark Hughes to figure out at St. Mary's and hence, they shouldn't disturb Chelsea too much. The hosts will try to sit back and hit their opponents on the occasional counter. It might take a while for the Blues to break the deadlock, but it should be an easy victory.
Southampton 0-2 Chelsea
