Southampton vs Chelsea: Blues seek to add more troubles for floundering hosts

Topics: TV Schedules, Southampton, Chelsea, English Premier League

A recently-revived Chelsea will look to make it five wins on the spin when they travel to face struggling Southampton on Saturday, February 20th.

Preview: Southampton vs Chelsea

Southampton have lost ten matches this season, which certainly isn't the worst record in the division. In fact, Arsenal, who sit in tenth, have also lost ten times, and then there's teams like Newcastle (13 losses), West Brom (15 losses) and Sheffield United (19 losses). However, what's quite concerning for Saints fans is that six of these defeats have happened in Southampton's last six Premier League games.

Indeed, Ralph Hasenhuttl's side, who have shipped a whopping 20 goals during this miserable run, are currently on their worst streak in club history. For Saints fans, it must feel like a lifetime ago when their team earned a 1-0 win over reigning champs Liverpool in January, and their rapid downturn has seen them plummet from a potential Europa League spot to sitting in a very disappointing 13th place coming into this match. Although they secured a quarter-finals berth in the FA Cup last week by beating Wolves, they then ended up losing to the same side in the Premier League just a few days later.

What will be especially concerning is how Southampton have slid down the table. Although they're not in danger of relegation - yet - the hosts aren't too far from sides like Newcastle (17th) and Brighton (16th). Both those teams are only six and seven points ahead of 18th-placed Fulham, and with some tricky clashes coming up, Hasenhuttl's troops will really need to get the show back on the road if they don't want to find themselves moving dangerously close to the drop zone.

That being said, Southampton did manage to hold Chelsea to a draw in an exciting six goal thriller at Stamford Bridge last October. However, the hosts have lost 24 Premier League games against the Blues - which is the second worst performance against any side in the top flight. They've only lost more times against Manchester United (28), and of major concern is their record when hosting Chelsea: five games, five losses.

Meanwhile, Chelsea will arrive on the south coast - where they've only lost two of their last 28 league fixtures - having moved back into the top four. The Blues come into this match off the back of a 2-0 win over Newcastle, which makes it four wins on the trot for new manager Thomas Tuchel. In fact, since the German tactician took over, Chelsea are unbeaten thus far, and will be seeking their fifth consecutive league win (and sixth straight victory across all comps).

Next up for the London giants is an away clash with current La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid in the Champions League round of 16, and given the trickiness of that match, Tuchel will certainly want his team to warm up for that tie in decisive fashion.

Team news: Southampton vs Chelsea

Southampton: Hasenhuttl will have to make do without Kyle Walker-Peters, Ibrahima Diallo and Theo Walcott due to injuries. In addition, both Michael Obafemi and William Smallbone also look set to miss out here.

Chelsea: Veteran defenders Thiago Silva will miss this match due to a thigh injury that has kept him out for over a month. Meanwhile, although new signing Kai Havertz has now resumed training, American star Christian Pulisic has suffered another injury set back and could miss this game due to a calf problem.

Match facts: Southampton vs Chelsea

Southampton have lost their last six league games - which is the worst run in club history
Tuchel will hope to become the first Chelsea boss to win his first three road games since Carlo Ancelotti in 2009
Hasenhuttl has lost more home games than any other Southampton manager in history (W16 D7 L20)
The Saints have lost 24 Premier League games against Chelsea
That includes their last five home games
Chelsea haven't failed to beat Southampton both home and away since the 2014/2015 season
In addition, the Blues have lost only two of their last 28 away Premier League games on the south coast (W21 D5 L2)