Chelsea welcome Southampton to Stamford Bridge on Tuesday evening in the Premier League. The Blues have dropped to seventh in the table following a run of inconsistent performances.
They were beaten 2-1 by Aston Villa at Villa Park last weekend despite taking an early lead. Enzo Maresca’s side will be desperate to end a two-game losing streak against Southampton, who sit bottom of the Premier League table.
The Saints are enduring their worst-ever campaign in Premier League history, picking up only nine points from 26 games. They have lost four of their last five matches, so confidence is extremely low heading into the trip to West London.
Chelsea vs Southampton—Team news
Chelsea suffered a blow against Aston Villa when Trevoh Chalobah was forced off with a hip problem in the first half. Maresca has confirmed that the defender will miss the midweek game.
The Blues have also lost Noni Madueke until after the March international break due to a hamstring injury. Maresca is expected to have more or less the same squad available against Southampton.
Ready for tomorrow. đź‘Š@BingXOfficial | #EmpowerTheFuture #TrainingInsider pic.twitter.com/kvB8MIbjke
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) February 24, 2025
As for Southampton, Jan Bednarek suffered an injury in the 4-0 defeat to Brighton and was set to undergo scans on Sunday. The Polish defender is almost certain to join Ross Stewart (calf), Ryan Fraser (calf), and Adam Lallana (thigh) on the sidelines.
Additionally, Lesley Ugochukwu will miss this game as he cannot play against his parent club, Chelsea.
Chelsea vs Southampton—Predicted lineups
Predicted Chelsea XI (4-2-3-1): Filip Jorgensen; Malo Gusto, Tosin Adarabioyo, Levi Colwill, Marc Cucurella; Enzo Fernández, Moisés Caicedo; Cole Palmer, Jadon Sancho, Christopher Nkunku; Pedro Neto
Predicted Southampton XI (3-4-3): Aaron Ramsdale; Joe Aribo, Armel Bella-Kotchap, James Bree; Yukinari Sugawara, Albert Grønbæk, Matheus Fernandes, Kyle Walker-Peters; Tyler Dibling, Paul Onuachu, Kamaldeen Sulemana
Chelsea vs Southampton—Key players
Chelsea—Pedro Neto
Pedro Neto operated in a false nine role against Aston Villa and performed well. His combination play in the final third with Palmer, Fernández, and Nkunku was impressive. With Maresca backing the Portuguese forward to continue in a similar role against Southampton, Neto will be eager to repay his manager’s faith with another strong performance.
Southampton—Kamaldeen Sulemana
Kamaldeen Sulemana has been Southampton’s brightest player under Ivan Jurić. The diminutive Ghanaian’s unpredictability, raw pace, directness, and dribbling ability have troubled many defences this season. If he can add an end product to his game on Tuesday, the 23-year-old could pose a real threat to Chelsea.
