Premier League 2017-2018: Chelsea Vs. Southampton, Start Time, Live Stream, Preview, & Odds
Defending champions Chelsea (11-2-4, 35 points) will try to build another winning run as they square off with middling side Southampton (4-6-7, 18 points) in a 2017-2018 Premier League match at the Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Start Time And Streaming Info
The game starts at 10 a.m. ET. It can be viewed live online via FuboTV.
Chelsea
Antonio Conte and the Blues had two winless games in their last six matches to slip in the title race behind Manchester City and Manchester United. They are currently third in the league table, only three points behind United but a long 14 points below league leaders City.
Chelsea managed to come back from their loss to West Ham in Matchday 15 by pulling off a comfortable 3-1 victory over newly promoted side Huddersfield Town on the road at the John Smith’s Stadium on Tuesday.
Frenchman Tiemoue Bakayoko scored the opening goal in the 23rd minute before Brazilian star Willian doubled the lead two minutes before halftime. Former Barcelona ace Pedro made it a 3-0 count five minutes into the second half as Huddersfield forward Laurent Depoitre netted a consolation goal in stoppage time.
Conte will be concerned about Alvaro Morata’s health, although the Spaniard is expected to start for the Blues in this match. Despite Morata’s fitness struggles, the recent great plays of Pedro, Willian, and Eden Hazard are more than enough to compensate on the attacking front.
Southampton
The Saints are on a downward spiral as of late. Head coach Mauricio Pellegrino’s side had sandwiched two draws between two losses in their last four matches.
In their last Premier League fixture, Southampton conceded a 1-4 loss to Leicester City at their home field of St. Mary’s Stadium on Wednesday. Japanese defender Maya Yoshida scored the lone goal for the Saints in the 61st minute with the Foxes already ahead by three goals.
Pellegrino’s men have a lot of promise on paper, but they are not playing to their full potential, according to Sports Mole. The team’s main problem is goalscoring as they had only netted more than one goal in only three of their 17 games this season.
English striker Charlie Austin is again expected to fill in the scoring slack for Southampton in this match.
Predicted Lineup
Here is the potential starting XI for both sides via the Evening Standard:
Chelsea starting lineup (3-5-2 formation): Courtois; Azpilicueta, Christensen, Cahill; Zappacosta, Fabregas, Kante, Bakayoko, Alonso; Hazard, Morata.
Southampton starting lineup (4-2-3-1 formation): Forster; Stephens, Yoshida, Van Dijk, Bertrand; Romeu, Hojbjerg; Ward-Prowse, Tadic, Redmond; Austin.
Odds
Here are the odds, per Bet365:
Chelsea – 2/5
Southampton – 8/1
Draw – 4/1
