Chelsea made a superb start to their 2021/22 campaign but the loss to Manchester City last weekend dampened the mood somewhat. And to make things worse, the Blues then went down 1-0 to Juventus in the Champions League.
The back to back defeats will be a slight cause of concern for Thomas Tuchel but Chelsea will be looking to bounce back and go into the international break on a high by beating Southampton on Saturday.
Southampton have made a really rustic start to their campaign, picking up only four points from their first six matches so the Blues should be able to breeze through this one. The Stamford Bridge outfit are winless in their last three league games vs the Saints but we really don’t see them losing this one.
The manager has a few injury concerns going into this match but the massive squad depth of the London side means Tuchel has very little to worry about. His only focus will be on reviving his players’ dented confidence and get back to winning ways.
Chelsea team news vs Southampton:
Thiago Silva played vs Juventus in midweek and since Southampton are not in the best of form, Tuchel is likely to rest the senior defender and hand a start to Trevoh Chalobah.
N’Golo Kante will miss out after testing positive for COVID and since Mateo Kovacic and Jorginho played in the UCL clash there’s a big chance that Saul Niguez finally gets to start in midfield.
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Reece James is still on the sidelines with an ankle injury and as per the latest update from the manager, he is likely to return only after the break.
Tuchel had said a few days ago: “It’s still very painful. It will come down to pain management in the end and how much he can accept. Right now, we are looking at a minimum of one more week.”
Marcos Alonso has been preferred to Ben Chilwell on the left-hand side but the Chelsea boss is likely to rest the Spaniard meaning Chiwell should get a start against Southampton.
Mason Mount is expected to go through a late fitness test but it remains to be seen if he is fit enough to start or does he only find a place on the bench.
Timo Werner remained an unused sub in midweek but the German will come back into the side on Saturday, replacing Hakim Ziyech. Romelu Lukaku and Havertz will hold onto their place.
