Chelsea vs Southampton

Chelsea’s humiliating Premier League campaign continues at Stamford Bridge this weekend as they entertain rock-bottom Southampton in a must-win clash.

Despite spending north of £300m on winter signings, Chelsea cannot catch a break, with a disappointing 1-0 loss at Borussia Dortmund in midweek Champions League action throwing manager Graham Potter’s future in West London into further doubt. Stuck in their worst Premier League position at this stage of the season since 2015/16, the ‘Blues’ trail fourth-placed Newcastle United by a whopping ten points after drawing three consecutive league matches for the first time since 2006/07. Victories have been at a premium for Chelsea in 2023, with Potter’s side picking up just one win from nine competitive outings since the turn of the year (D4, L4). On top of their wayward form, the ‘Pensioners’ have netted just four goals in seven Premier League games in 2023.

On the other hand, visiting Southampton slumped to a 2-1 home defeat to ten-man Wolverhampton Wanderers last weekend, stretching their dreadful losing league streak to three matches. That result proved the end of the road for Nathan Jones, who received his marching orders after an embarrassing 94-day tenure (W1, L7). Though they’ve yet to fill the vacancy, Southampton can draw confidence from having registered three of their four Premier League wins this season on hostile turf. Incidentally, their solitary home league triumph came against non-other than Chelsea in August (2-1). The ‘Saints’ are now looking to complete their first league double over the ‘Blues’ for the first time since 1987/88 and improve their effort to whittle down a four-point gap on safety.