Chelsea will travel to the St. Mary’s Stadium to lock horns with Southampton on Sunday hoping to win back to back matches in the Premier League. The Pensioners will come into this encounter on the back of a hard-fought 2-1 win over LOSC Lille in the UEFA Champions League.
Frank Lampard will keep his fingers crosses that his players can recover in time and be ready for what is expected to be a gruelling league clash away at the South-coast of England. The West London giants might revert to a 4-3-3 formation for this weekend’s clash against Ralph Hasenhüttl’s men.
4-3-3 Chelsea Predicted Lineup To Face Southampton
Defence
Kepa Arrizabalaga will operate as Lampard’s first-choice keeper this weekend despite his failure to keep a clean sheet away at LOSC Lille in midweek. The centre-back duo of Fikalyo Tomori and Kurt Zouma will look to form a strong partnership at the heart of the Chelsea backline. The defensive pair will have to find a way to cope with the high pressing of the Saints attackers this weekend.
Cesar Azpilicueta will be the Pensioners skipper as he leads his team from the right-back position. Marcos Alonso will hope to be creative in the opposition half when he takes his place at left-back in the absence of the injured Emerson Palmieri. Andreas Christensen might have to settle for a spot on the Chelsea bench as both Tomori and Zouma are undroppable at the moment due to their outstanding form.
Midfield
The creative trio of Jorginho, Mateo Kovacic and N’Golo Kante will hope to dictate play and create some chances from the centre of the park. They would have to find a way to play at a high tempo so that they can overcome Southampton’s high pressing. Both Kante and Jorginho had a good game against Lille in midweek, so they are expected to keep their place in Lampard’s starting XI.
Ross Barkley will have to be content with a spot on the bench but might get a chance to feature in this league match if required.
Attack
Tammy Abraham will spearhead the Pensioners attack up front after his goal-scoring heroics in France earlier this week. Mason Mount and Willian will look to provide support to the English centre-forward from the flanks. All three players are enjoying a good run of form for the West London outfit so they would look to put in an impressive display versus the South-coast club on Sunday.
