After a gruelling fixture against West Ham United in the cup on Wednesday, Chelsea travel to the south coast to face a Southampton side full of confidence. The Blues will be going into this fixture on the back of a cup exit and will be looking to get back into the groove which saw them score 9 and concede 0 in their previous 3 fixtures. Conte believes he’s found the perfect system for the Blues but it’s Eden Hazard’s former manager – Claude Puel – who will be looking to cast doubt upon their Italian’s mind.
It has been a good week for the Saints as they came away from the Etihad last weekend with a point to their name and progressed into the quarter final of the EFL Cup after a sensational effort from winger Sofiane Boufal dumped David Moyes’ side out of the competition.
Match Details
Sunday 30th October 2016, St Mary’s Stadium, Kick-off: 16:00 (GMT), Sky Sports 1 (Channel – 401)
Last 5 Meetings
Southampton 1-2 Chelsea, Chelsea 1-3 Southampton, Chelsea 1-1 Southampton, Southampton 1-1 Chelsea, Southampton 0-3 Chelsea.
One To Watch
Nathan Redmond – With 3 goals already to his name this season, Nathan Redmond will be looking to cause Chelsea’s back 3 havoc on Sunday with his blistering pace and close touch control that would be too much to handle for most Premier League defenders. Although he’s got an eye for goal, he’ll be on the constant look out for his teammates so he can provide the chance that will give the Saints the upper hand over their opponents this weekend.
Team News
Ivanovic has returned to full training whilst Cesc Fabregas remains on the sidelines.
Predicted XI
Courtois; Azpilicueta, Luiz, Cahill; Moses, Kante, Matic, Alonso; Pedro, Costa, Hazard.
Score Prediction
Southampton 1-1 Chelsea
