Chelsea were on the back of the fight for important positions in the previous two Premier League draws. This season, the Blues had an excellent first half of the season, reminiscent of their pre-crisis selves, before starting to lose points at the level of not even the most stable mid-table side in the division. After their status as second title contenders, which Chelsea were given back in December following their winning streak, the Blues are no longer listed as viable candidates for the top spot. Given the drop to seventh place in the standings, the London club should be more worried about finishing in the Champions League zone of the English league. Southampton won the play-offs at the end of last year's Championships, beating Leeds in the final, who are now leading the second division of the country. However, the Saints were unprepared for the realities of the Premier League. The team has actually resigned itself to the departure from the English elite, as evidenced by both its results and location at the bottom of the standings. Bookmakers have identified the home team as the favourites for the upcoming game, offering odds of 1.22 on their victory.

The last month has been extremely difficult for Chelsea. The team only won at their own stadium and only lost at the other side's. Taking into account that there were twice as many away games, the Blues are coming to the meeting with Southampton in a series of three consecutive defeats. In addition, Chelsea have conceded at least one goal in the last nine Premier League matches. The situation needs to be rectified as soon as possible. Failure to beat the division's weakest club at home after three consecutive defeats will end any ambition of a place in the Champions League zone.

In the middle of the season Southampton changed their head coach, appointing Ivan Djuric to the post. Since the arrival of the Croatian specialist at the post "Saints" played eleven matches, of which nine lost and two won. And one of the victories was won in the FA Cup, from which Southampton have already crashed out. In recent rounds, the "saints" completely stopped resisting, losing at their stadium Bournemouth and Brighton with a score of 1-3 and 1:4 respectively. Chelsea will have no problems with such an opponent.