Chelsea will lock their horns against Southampton in the top flight of English football today. The Blues are in 3rd position in the League table and they will try to catch Manchester United who are just 3 points ahead of them. The London based outfit are currently situated at 3rd position in the League table with 32 points from 16 matches and are trying to build some positive momentum.
Antonio Conte’s team were defeated by West Ham in the last round of match in the Premier League, though they secured a win over Huddersfield Town after that. They will now be desperate to win this match to get back into the winning momentum which is required for them badly, though the Saints will not want to go home empty handed and will try their best to make a match out of it.
Team News :
Southampton:
Fraser Forster can possibly make the difference on the night if he is able to keep out the opposition strikers and prevent them from scoring goals at the start of the game and can keep his team in it, at crucial times.
The defence will once again comprise of Soares, Yoshida, Van Dijk and Bertrand, who will have their work cut-out for them on the night. It will be really tough to keep the hosts out, though they will try their best to do so.
Chelsea :
Antonio Conte might opt to change his lineup this time too, after the shock defeat against West Ham recently. Danny Drinkwater and David Luiz will be in the contention to start the match while Morata and Bakayoko might be in the team too. Courtois will start in the Chelsea goal in this match once again. Azpilicueta, Christensen and Cahill will be there in the three man defense for Chelsea while Moses and Alonso will be deployed in two flanks for them.
Drinkwater, Kante and Bakayoko might be there in the heart of the midfield for the Blues in this match while Morata and Hazard will lead the forward line of Chelsea from the upfront. Tough call to make on whom to play and whom to drop. Let’s see what happens
Predicted First Eleven :
Southampton : (4-5-1)
Goalkeeper :Fraser Forster
Defenders: Soares, Yoshida, Van Dijk, Bertrand
Midfielders Oriol Romeo, Lemina, Tadic, Davies, Boufal
Attackers: Charlie Austin
Chelsea : (3-5-2)
Goalkeeper : Courtois
Defenders : Azpilicueta, Christensen, Cahill.
Midfielders : Moses, Drinkwater, Kante, Bakayoko, Alonso.
Attackers : Hazard; Morata.
My Predicted Scoreline :
Chelsea 2-0 Southampton.
Chelsea really need to win this match prior to facing Bournemouth next and will try their best to get a positive result at home. If they drop any more points on the night, they might be more or less out of the title race, just like their domestic rivals Arsenal, who have faded away with time.
Manchester City is going all guns blazing and it will be really tough to catch hold of them, unless they really start dropping points and they will be facing Tottenham later in the day. Hopefully, Spurs can really pull off a miracle and make a difference to the title race.
