Chelsea will lock horns with Southampton at St. Mary’s Stadium on Saturday afternoon as they try to pick up another positive result in the Premier League. The Blues managed to beat Newcastle United by a 2-0 scoreline earlier this week, which will give them some confidence heading into this weekend’s showdown at Hampshire.
Thomas Tuchel could stick with his favoured 3-4-2-1 formation and is expected to make a couple of changes to his first-team for this game. Both Edouard Mendy and Olivier Giroud could earn a start at the expense of Kepa Arrizabalaga and Tammy Abraham respectively.
3-4-2-1 Chelsea Predicted Lineup To Face Southampton
Defence
Edouard Mendy will feature in between the sticks for the West London club after being rested versus the Magpies on Monday night. Tuchel will probably opt for a back three of Cesar Azpilicueta, Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger as they try to collectively produce a solid display by neutralising the threat of Southampton’s Danny Ings during the 90 minutes.
Kurt Zouma will be available for selection on the Chelsea bench as he provides cover for the centre-half positions. However, Thiago Silva is unlikely to recover in time for this game.
Midfield
Mateo Kovacic and Jorginho will assume the duties of the holding midfielders as they focus on getting a foothold in the game at the centre of the park. Marcos Alonso will function as a wing-back down the left flank while Callum Hudson-Odoi looks to use his pace to get to the byline on the right-wing.
Timo Werner and Mason Mount are expected to play on the shoulders of Olivier Giroud up top. Werner managed to end his goal-drought versus Newcastle, so he will be eager to maintain his good form by producing another productive display for his team this weekend.
Ben Chilwell, Hakim Ziyech, Reece James and N’Golo Kante will be named on the bench. Some of them might come on to influence the game in the second 45 minutes if required.
Attack
Olivier Giroud will spearhead Thomas Tuchel’s attack in the final third. The French striker managed to get his name on the scoresheet in his last league appearance, which will keep him in high spirits this weekend.
Tammy Abraham is a significant doubt for this game, so Christian Pulisic could come off the bench to play as a makeshift centre-forward if needed.
