Game Week 7 Predictions: Chelsea to beat Southampton at Stamford Bridge

  Chelsea aim to halt the run of back to back losses with the visit of Southampton to the Stamford Bridge Stadium on Saturday. (Photo credit...

 

Chelsea aim to halt the run of back to back losses with the visit of Southampton to the Stamford Bridge Stadium on Saturday. (Photo credit: Premierleague.com)

Chelsea vs Southampton

Stamford Bridge

3:00pm

Chelsea have now lost back to back matches without scoring a single goal for the first time since Thomas Tuchel took over in January of this year, no need to hit the panic button yet, the team is still ticking and will bounce from the blip.

Southampton have played six times in the league this season without a win, not for lack of efforts as they have drawn four times, twice against the big sides with a goalless draw against Manchester City and a 1-1 draw against the other half of Manchester, is Chelsea next?

The Saints are disrespectful, they don’t leave anything behind when they press and they know how to commit oppositions into areas they don’t want to be but they’re struggling in front of goal, it’s also expected with Danny Ings leaving for Aston Villa in the summer.

Chelsea will come out smoking after losing to Juventus in midweek, Mason Mount is available for selection after some time out but N’golo Kante will face a late fitness test, Jorginho and Matteo Kovacic will hold forte should the Frenchman be unavailable.

How will they line up? Southampton will press high as we have come to know Ralph Hassenheutl to like to play, player availability will determine the tool and the system but the Saints will excite and might even have some shocker to serve.

The Blues will most likely revert to the system that worked before, Timo Werner will return to the bench with Mount available and Kai Havertz could also start, there’s a need for legs to eat into the space left behind by Southampton’s press, fast paced players will be relied on in the second half when the Saints tire out.

Interestingly, Chelsea have only one win in the last five league games against Southampton with three of those five ending in draws, Southampton beat Chelsea 2-0 under Frank Lampard towards the tail end of the year 2019.

Romelu Lukaku will like to get the ball early so the visitors must try as much as they can to cut supplies to him, Reece James and Marcus Alonso are two players that will deliver the goods from wing back, keep an eye on Armstrong is he’s unleashed on the Blues by Hassenheutl.

 

Verdict: Chelsea to win