The odds are stacked against Southampton ahead of their clash against Chelsea, but one pundit reckons that the spoils will be shared on Sunday.
Saints welcome an in-form Blues side to St Mary’s, with Frank Lampard’s men having won in impressive fashion away at LOSC Lille in the Champions League group stages in midweek.
Southampton, meanwhile head into the match on the back of a 2-1 away defeat to Tottenham Hotspur last weekend, with the hosts down to 10 men for the final hour of proceedings.
Nevertheless, it seems the consensus is not that Chelsea will have it easy when they lock horns with Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side.
Charlie Nicholas, in his weekly column for Sky Sports, predicted that the match will finish 1-1 at St Mary’s this weekend, and tipped the Blues to slightly slip up. He said:
This is another good test for Southampton, who were decent against Tottenham.
Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham have been praised, and rightly so. Abraham has earned his first England call-up, rightly so too.
Chelsea are sitting in seventh which is acceptable – it is tight at the moment. It will be a season full of ups and downs for the Blues and with lots of games coming up for their youngsters, it may just take its toll on occasions.
Read Southampton’s verdict
Few would complain if Saints were to take a point away from their upcoming game against Chelsea. As aforementioned, they are by no means the favourites, and a difficult test awaits them on Sunday.
Lampard has got his side playing an attractive brand of high-intensity football. After a hectic week, in which they have secured wins over Brighton and Hove Albion and Lille, Saints will be hoping to capitalise on tired legs.
Southampton probably have enough of a chance here to suggest that it will not be a ‘free hit’, as such, when Chelsea come to town. But the pressure is off, and Hasenhuttl has a big chance to prove once again that he can outmanoeuvre the managers of big-six clubs.
