Coming into this year, most of us football fans would have expected Chelsea to be up there, in and around the title race. But this year has been completely different. Coming into this game Chelsea lie in 12th place with 33 points to their name.
Now, Chelsea have reached a level of consistency. Since Guus Hiddink has started his second reign as manager, they’ve only once; away to Ligue 1 leaders PSG 2-1 at the Parc de Princes. Of Hiddink’s 22 Premier League games this year, he has won 14 times, drawn on seven occasions and lost no times.
Southampton, on the other hand, are flying high and have kept six consecutive clean sheets in as many games and have definitely been boosted by the return of goalkeeper Fraser Forster. All of these clean sheets aren’t just down to Forster’s heroics After a tough run of nine games with only one win, Saints boss Ronald Koeman changed things up. Turning to the 3-5-2 has turned Saints’ season around. From being down in 13th and a matter of points above the relegation zone, things weren’t looking great for the club. But a simple formation tweak has changed it all.
Matt Targett has come in to the side at a difficult time and performed very well in the left wing-back role. As well as this, Ryan Bertrand has adapted brilliantly to the centre-back position next to Virgil van Dijk and Jose Fonte. Another player who has stepped up recently is Jordy Clasie. He seems to have finally gained fitness and is
Another player who has stepped up recently is Jordy Clasie. He seems to have finally gained full fitness and is now playing 90 minute games at a high tempo, suited to the English game. Often you’ll see him pressing a team into playing it back to their own goalkeeper and then getting back into position to start the next battle with the opponent. Now that Clasie has finally adapted to the Premier League, he is showing the fans what a crucial player he is and now is surely one of the first names on the team sheet.
Saints have no fresh injury concerns ahead of the clash against the Blues, with Florin Gardos and Jay Rodriguez both stepping up their recovery from long-term injuries, whilst Victor Wanyama will be sidelined as he sits out the second of his five-match suspension.
Can Saints make it seven clean sheets out of seven against the reigning champions?
