Southampton vs Chelsea
England – Premier League
Date: Saturday, 20 February 2021
Kick-off at 12:30 UK/ 13:30 CET
Venue: St. Mary’s Stadium.
After recording a routine 2-0 win over Newcastle United, Chelsea will be looking to give fans yet another reason for celebration when they take on Southampton at St. Mary’s Stadium.
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The Blues are on a five-game winning run in all competitions, but they need to keep on raising their form if they are to secure a top-four finish.
Tammy Abraham picked up a knock in the win over Newcastle, meaning that Giroud is likely to replace him in the starting XI.
Both Thiago Silva and Kai Havertz are likely to miss the game with injuries.
The Saints, on the other hand, experienced all sorts of problems at the back in a 2-1 home loss to Wolverhampton.
Southampton are on a six-game losing run in the English top flight, and we do not believe that they are capable of grabbing something from Saturday's clash.
The likes of Obafemi, Walcott, Diallo, and Walker-Peters are all sidelined with injuries.
Southampton vs Chelsea: Head-to-head (h2h)
Teams Southampton Chelsea played so far 31 matches.
Southampton won 5 direct matches. Chelsea won 18 matches. 8 matches ended in a draw. On average in direct matches both teams scored a 3.10 goals per Match.
Southampton vs Chelsea Prediction
Southampton in actual season average scored 1.30 goals per match. In 10 (66.67%) matches played at home was total goals (team and opponent) Over 1.5 goals. In 5 (33.33%) matches in season 2021 played at home was total goals (team and opponent) Over 2.5 goals.
Chelsea average scored 1.94 goals per match in season 2021. In 13 (72.22%) matches played away was total goals (team and opponent) Over 1.5 goals. In 9 (50.00%) matches played away team was total goals (team and opponent) Over 2.5 goals.
Team News:
Southampton boss Hasenhuttl confirmed during Thursday's press conference that Kyle Walker-Peters is out for "a few weeks" through injury, while Ibrahima Diallo and Theo Walcott remain sidelined for the clash.
Michael Obafemi and William Smallbone are also still absent, but Alexandre Jankewitz, who was shown a red card against Man United at Old Trafford, is available following a suspension.
Jack Stephens could come into the side as a replacement for Walker-Peters, while there could also be a change in the final third with Che Adams potentially lining up alongside Danny Ings.
As for Chelsea, Tammy Abraham is out with the ankle problem that he picked up against Newcastle on Monday evening, but Thiago Silva and Kai Havertz were both back in training on Thursday, fuelling suggestions that they could be involved at St Mary's.
Tuchel is unlikely to take any risks with Silva ahead of an important period, though, meaning that Andreas Christensen could continue at the heart of the defence, with Marcos Alonso again potentially getting the nod over Ben Chilwell as the left-sided wing-back.
Abraham's spot at the tip of the attack is expected to be taken by Olivier Giroud, while Edouard Mendy is expected to replace Kepa Arrizabalaga between the sticks.
Southampton possible starting lineup:
McCarthy; Stephens, Bednarek, Vestergaard, Bertrand; Armstrong, Romeu, Ward-Prowse, Minamino; Adams, Ings
Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Mendy; Azpilicueta, Christensen, Rudiger; Hudson-Odoi, Jorginho, Kovacic, Alonso; Mount, Giroud, Werner
Match officials
Referee: Anthony Taylor. Assistants: Simon Long, Adam Nunn. Fourth official: Simon Hooper. VAR: Stuart Attwell. Assistant VAR: Gary Beswick.