Southampton vs Chelsea, Premier League: Preview, team news, how to watch

For the first time this season, Enzo Maresca’s squad rotation will be tested during the week and at the weekend. Up until that point, every Premier League game, all thirteen that we played, took place on a weekend and every non-Premier League game, be it the League Cup or the UEFA Conference League, took place during the week . So Maresca could use his “A” lineups for the former and his “B” lineups for the latter.

But here we have a Premier League game taking place during the week and even though Southampton are the worst Premier League team at the moment, they are still a Premier League team. They cannot, should not and must not be taken lightly, lest we fall into the most classic of all classic traps: disappointment after our best performance.

Is our B lineup better than any lineup Southampton can field? Perhaps! But it’s a difficult situation, both in terms of competition and in terms of perception and expectations (and even workload). About you, Enzo.

Date/Time: Wednesday, December 4, 2024, 19:30 GMT; 2:30 p.m. EST; 1am IST
Venue: St Mary’s, Southampton, England
Referee: Tony Harrington (on the field); Matt Donohue (VAR)
Forecast: Rain is coming in

On TV: none (UNITED KINGDOM); none (USA); none (India); SuperSport Variety (NGA); elsewhere
Streaming: Amazon Prime (UK); Peacock (USA); Disney+ Hotstar (India); DStv Now (NGA)

Photo by Adam Davy/PA Images via Getty Images

Southampton team news: The Saints made it through the play-offs last season, but their time back in the Premier League wasn’t fun. They have only picked up one win and five points from their first thirteen games, putting them at the bottom of the table and already six points behind Safety.

But as Maresca himself pointed out, they have played some close games against some of the better teams in the league, including last time out at home when Liverpool had to come from behind to claim a 3-2 win. And Southampton’s last game actually came on Friday when they picked up points against Brighton in a 1-1 draw away.

This extra rest could be useful given the extensive injury list, which now includes the suspensions of Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Tyler-Jay Dibling and Flynn Downes. Harwood-Bellis and Downes, the backbone of manager Russell Martin’s side, lead the team in minutes, while Dibling leads all attacking players in the same category. Harwood-Bellis’ three goals, just one behind leading scorers Cameron Archer and Adam Armstrong, will also be missing.

Southampton will also be without their two best goalkeepers, Aaron Ramsdale and Gavin Bazunu, meaning either veteran Alex McCarthy or underclassman Joe Lumley will be back in the starting lineup. Jan Bednarek, Adam Lallana, Paul Onuachu, Ross Stewart and Will Smallbone complete their league-leading injury list.

Oh, and Chelsea loanee Lesley Ugochukwu is ineligible to play, even though he barely played anyway.

So either Southampton will be blown away or they will be on the verge of a miracle win.

Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images

Chelsea team news: Thanks in part to the rotation policy mentioned above, our injury record this season is quite good. However, we currently have frequent treatment room flyers Reece James and Wesley Fofana adding more miles to their missed games due to hamstring injuries.

Maresca is doing his utmost to take this game seriously, so let’s hope his charges follow suit, regardless of selection.

“For us it is the worst game since the start of the season and it will be the toughest game since the start of the season. We have to be ready or it will be a bad day for us. The reason is that if you analyze the results they are probably there (bottom of the league) but performance wise they won against Liverpool, lost 1-0 against City and drew against Brighton.

“The way they have played since last year, because I was in the Championship with Southampton last year, I know them pretty well. They are very brave and it is very clear what they want; They want to keep the ball and we want the same thing and it’s going to be a tough, tough game for sure and we have to be ready.”

-Enzo Maresca; Source: Football.London

Previously: Southampton were relegated from the Premier League in 2022/23, but somehow they won both games against us that season and took almost 25% (6) of their total points for the season (25) from us. However, before that we won 6-0 at St. Mary’s.