Southampton vs. Chelsea
Venue: St. Mary’s Stadium
Kick off: 2:15PM
Southampton head into today’s Premier League encounter with Chelsea looking to record just their fourth top-flight victory of 2018.
Chelsea however have put together a 10-match unbeaten streak in all competitions, but Maurizio Sarri will be keen to register a first league win in three attempts after draws with West Ham United and Liverpool.
Southampton’s performances have generally improved since the arrival of Mark Hughes earlier this year, but the Welshman still has plenty of work to do when it comes to his team being able to see out matches.
Hughes has watched his side lose five points during the last 15 minutes of Premier League fixtures this season, including at Molineux last weekend as the Saints held their own against in-form Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The West Midlands outfit netted twice in the closing 11 minutes to condemn Southampton to a result which has left the club sitting in 16th position in the top-flight standings.
The mood at the club naturally improved courtesy of the penalty-shootout triumph at Everton in the EFL Cup, but Southampton again conceded a late goal which undermined their efforts throughout the match.
Ironically, Southampton’s only two wins in all competitions this season have been partly due to goals scored after the 88th minute, but Hughes needs to find a way to ensure that his squad are learning from their issues at the back.
Danny Ings has been excellent since arriving at St Mary’s from Liverpool, with the Englishman netting four times in six starts and one substitute outing in all competitions.
However, the forward requires help from his teammates, with Shane Long and Charlie Austin having failed to net in 335 and 267 minutes of Premier League football respectively.
Southampton are underdogs to claim a result against Chelsea this afternoon but with the derby against Bournemouth and a crucial home fixture with Newcastle United to come after the international break, any positive result will help ease the pressure heading into that double-header.
Southampton possible XI: McCarthy, Soares, Vestergaard, Hoedt, Bertrand, Lemina, Hojbjerg, Elyounoussi, Ings, Redmond, Austin.
Chelsea possible XI: Arrizabalaga, Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Luiz, Alonso, Jorginho, Kovacic, Willian, Kante, Hazard, Giroud.