Chelsea suffered a shock defeat against Brentford last weekend but instead of making a comeback against Real Madrid, Tuchel’s side slumped to an embarrassing 3-1 loss to the Los Blancos.
The Blues take on Southampton in the Premier League this weekend and Tuchel will be hoping that his players can get back to winning ways. The Saints are themselves in really poor form as they are winless in the previous five matches so Chelsea should be able to overpower them.
Chelsea are sitting comfortably in the third spot on the league table so the loss to Brentford should not be a big deal but they will need to pick up all three points against Southampton just to calm all the nerves. Also, the last thing they will want is to go into the 2nd leg of their UCL clash at the back of another defeat.
Next week, the London take on Real Madrid in the 2nd leg of the Champions League quarter-final so Thomas Tuchel will have one eye on that tie meaning he is likely to make wholesome changes to his starting line up on Saturday.
Saturday: Chelsea 1-4 Brentford
Wednesday: Chelsea 1-3 Real Madrid pic.twitter.com/IuIZk6ijQC
— GOAL (@goal) April 6, 2022
Chelsea team news vs Southampton:
Edouard Mendy was really poor against Madrid and it won’t be a surprise if Kepa Arrizabalaga is brought into the side in his place.
All the three central defenders were really underwhelming in midweek and there’s a chance that two or maybe all three of them are rested for the Saints game.
Thiago Silva might just be able to hold onto his place but Rudiger and Christensen will most likely be dropped. Thomas Tuchel admitted after the 3-1 loss that starting with Christensen was a mistake so we know what will happen to him this weekend.
N’Golo Kante was chasing shadows against Real Madrid so on Saturday, Mateo Kovacic is likely to come back into the starting line up, alongside Jorginho.
Thomas Tuchel asked if Chelsea still have a chance against Real Madrid in the second leg. pic.twitter.com/hP20Fo35FZ
— Frank Khalid (@FrankKhalidUK) April 7, 2022
Christian Pulisic and Mason Mount will be protected for the 2nd leg which gives an opportunity to Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech to return to the side.
Kai Havertz was the one saving grace for Chelsea in the 1st leg so he’s definitely going to be rested on Saturday meaning Romelu Lukaku will come back into the side.
Both Lukaku and Timo Werner have been massive failures this season but Thomas Tuchel has no choice but to rotate his regular starters.
Ideally, with the form that Southampton are in right now, we expect Chelsea to pick up a regulation win but with Tuchel set to make so many changes, there’s a small chance that Hassenhutl’s side could pick up something from this tie.
UPDATE:
The Chelsea manager has confirmed in his press conference that Hudson-Odoi still remains sidelined and to add to the woes, Hakim Ziyech and Romelu Lukaku will also miss Saturday’s game.
The manager told the press: “Callum Hudson-Odoi is still out and we have a little doubt over Romelu and Hakim Ziyech.”
This is a major blow for the manager since he was going to rotate his players this weekend but now with Lukaku and Hakim Ziyech both out injured, Tuchel will get very limited options.
The Chelsea boss will have to give Kai Havertz and Pulisic some rest before the 2nd leg and this means that he will have to rely on Ruben Loftus-Cheek as the attacking midfielder and more worryingly use Timo Werner up front.
Chelsea predicted line up vs Southampton:
Predicted Starting Line up(3-4-2-1): Kepa/Mendy; Thiago Silva, Sarr, Chalobah; Alonso, Azpilicueta, Jorginho, Mateo Kovacic; Mount, Timo Werner; Loftus-Cheek.
