Southampton will be looking to turn their fortunes around in the Premier League as they take on Chelsea at St Mary’s on Saturday. Get ready for the fixture with our Match Pack, in association with eToro…
THE MATCH
Southampton vs Chelsea
St Mary’s Stadium
Premier League
Saturday 20 February, 12:30 GMT
THE OFFICIALS
Referee: Anthony Taylor
Assistants: Gary Beswick, Adam Nunn
Fourth official: Simon Hooper
VAR: Stuart Attwell
Assistant VAR: Derek Eaton
HOW TO WATCH
The fixture will be broadcast live on BT Sport.
WHAT'S AT STAKE?
Two teams with opposing fortunes in recent weeks, but the stakes are just as high for each of them.
While Saints have made a good run in the FA Cup, they’ve not been able to transfer this form into the Premier League.
Saints will be searching for their first win in the league since their opening fixture of 2021, where they beat reigning champions Liverpool 1-0 courtesy of a Danny Ings stunner.
Chelsea have been on a resurgence of sorts under new manager Thomas Tuchel, winning five games on the bounce since he took charge.
Chelsea currently sit fourth, but with the battle for the top four wide open – three points could be vital for their European hopes next season.
It was an intense battle when Southampton faced Chelsea at Stanford Bridge earlier this season.
TEAM NEWS
Southampton will be without first choice right-back Kyle Walker-Peters when they face Chelsea on Saturday, with his absence expected to last a few weeks.
Theo Walcott and Ibrahima Diallo also remain sidelined. The return of Alex Jankewitz provides some welcome relief for Hasenhüttl.
Chelsea’s team selection prosects have been boosted as both Kai Havertz and Thiago Silva have returned to training.
Tuchel will be missing in-form Tammy Abraham as he picked up an ankle injury vs Newcastle.
Southampton:
Wolves (h) 1-2 (Ings)
Wolves (a) 0-2 (Ings, Armstrong) FA Cup
Newcastle (a) 3-2 (Minamino, Ward-Prowse)
Manchester United (a) 9-0
Aston Villa (h) 0-1
Chelsea:
Newcastle United (h) 2-0 (Giroud, Werner)
Barnsley (a) 1-0 (Abraham) FA Cup
Sheffield United (a) 1-2 (Mount, Jorginho)
Tottenham Hotspur (a) 1-0 (Jorginho)
Burnley (h) 2-0 (Azpilicueta, Alonso)
THE MANAGERS
Ralph Hasenhüttl: "Kyle Walker-Peters is out for a few weeks, maybe, and that definitely hurts us. He was a big part of our good run and when he was not there we've had a worse run.
It's a never-ending story of this season, players getting injured."
Thomas Tuchel: "Now that is why we will have a couple of days off to recover physically and mentally and then we prepare 100 percent for Southampton and the next challenge."
TOP PERFORMERS
Inclusive of all competitions
Southampton:
Goals:
Danny Ings 9
James Ward-Prowse 6
Adams, Armstrong 4
Assists:
James Ward-Prowse 5
Ché Adams 4
Ings, Armstrong 3
Chelsea:
Goals:
Abraham 12
Werner, Giroud 10
Jorginho 6
Assists:
Werner 6
Havertz, Mount, Chilwell, James 5
Abraham, Hudson-Odoi, Ziyech 4
LAST FIVE MEETINGS
October 2020: Chelsea 3-3 Saints
December 2019: Chelsea 0-2 Saints (Obafemi, Redmond)
October 2019: Saints 1-4 Chelsea (Ings)
January 2019: Chelsea 0-0 Saints
October 2018: Saints 0-3 Chelsea
the first win after such a run is always the most difficult, but the most important, and one we're fighting for.
DID YOU KNOW?
- Danny Ings has the best minutes-per-goal ratio of any Southampton player with 15+ goals in Premier League history, with the England striker averaging a goal every 161 minutes for the club in the competition.
KEEP UP TO DATE
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Check out our interactive match centre at southamptonfc.com, with all of the live in-game updates and free audio commentary of the match, and be sure to follow us on social media for further updates and exclusive content:
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