Chelsea continue their top-four push against Southampton at Stamford Bridge.
Victory will lift Chelsea up to fourth if Bournemouth fail to win elsewhere, whilst Southampton will remain rock bottom regardless of the result.
Team News
Trevoh Chalobah is ruled out for Chelsea after he suffered a back injury in their 2-1 loss at Aston Villa.
Mykhailo Mudryk (suspension), Marc Guiu, Romeo Lavia (both muscle), Benoit Badiashile (thigh), Wesley Fofana, Nicolas Jackson, Noni Madueke and Omari Kellyman (all hamstring) are still ruled out.
Southampton will be without defender, Jan Bednarek after he suffered an early unspecified injury in their 4-0 home defeat against Brighton.
Juan Larios (fitness), Ryan Fraser (knock), Taylor Harwood-Bellis (ankle), Adam Lallana (hamstring) and Ross Stewart (calf) remain ruled out.
When is Kick-Off?
Chelsea host Southampton at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday 25 February at 8:15pm GMT, live on TNT Sports 1 in the UK.
Stat Attack
- Chelsea have avoided defeat in five of their last seven league meetings against Southampton (W3, D2, L2).
- Southampton have lost one of their last five visits to Chelsea in the top-flight (W2, D2, L1).
- Former Southampton midfielder, James Ward-Prowse scored in each of the Saints’ last two visits to Chelsea (W1, L1).
- Chelsea’s seven league goals at home in 2025 have been netted by seven different goalscorers – including Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s own-goal in their 2-1 comeback win over West Ham earlier this month.
- Southampton have claimed one point in four league visits to London-based opposition this season (D1, L3).
Prediction
With just eight points in nine games since Xmas, Chelsea certainly are in a rut and having just two experienced centre-backs available here is another concern for a team struggling for consistency, which was evident in how they lacked much clinical quality after taking the lead in their eventual sloppy loss at Villa.
Southampton meanwhile are just destined for relegation now but if they’re to get any points soon then this feels like the least yet most likely place, particularly given their recent form at Stamford Bridge but they must be clinical and importantly absolutely resilient defensively first.
I however do feel that this is a game that Chelsea must win otherwise you have to wonder how deep their issues currently lie, and it would be an embarrassment if they somehow lose this against a low-confidence Southampton side.
Prediction: Chelsea 2-0 Southampton
Result: Chelsea 4-0 Southampton
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