Chelsea FC vs Southampton FC, Premier League 2022-2023, Today Match Prediction

Chelsea FC vs Southampton FC Match Prediction & Analysis

Chelsea competed in the Champions League this week, hoping to put their Premier League struggles to bed and get back on the winning road.

While they ended up losing 1-0 to Borussia Dortmund, there are small signs that they are starting to click as a unit. Now they need to transfer that step-by-step progress in their next few league matches.

They remain in 10th place, an incredibly low position for a team as big as Chelsea, with just one league victory from their last seven. Graham Potter badly needs a win here.

Southampton are even further into the mess right now, with the club sitting bottom of the league and without a manager. 

With Nathan Jones receiving his marching orders this week, there is unlikely to be a new man in place by the weekend. Whoever the club chooses next, he must surely be more experienced in dealing with situations like this.

TEAMS PREVIEW

Chelsea FC Preview

Reasons to be cheerful:

     Are showing small signs of progress in recent games

     New signings – like Joao Felix and Mudryk – are beginning to click

Reasons to be fearful:

     Just one win from seven in the league and a top-four push looks gone

     Only four goals scored from their last nine in all competitions

We all knew that Chelsea would need to undergo a period of change with a new manager and multiple new signings to bed in.

Although £600m has been spent since last summer, it feels as though the team has gone backwards in some ways since the days of Thomas Tuchel as manager. Sometimes, however, we must go backwards to go forwards.

That will be the intention. Despite defeat in the first leg of their Champions League game, they are still in with a shout and there is enough time left this season to achieve something in the Premier League.

A top-four push is surely gone, but they will feel they can challenge for places further up the table than they currently are.

A home game against bottom of the league Southampton could kickstart their improvement.

Star Man – Joao Felix

Felix has looked impressive since his arrival on loan. He clearly has immense talent and his goal at the weekend shows his quality in that department. He can be the talisman to help drive Chelsea forward in the future.

Southampton FC Preview

Reasons to be cheerful

     Will hope to enter a new era after poor run this season

     Beat Chelsea earlier in the campaign

Reasons to be fearful

     Are likely to head into this game without a manager

     Nine defeats from their last 10 in the league

It seemed only a matter of time before Nathan Jones faced the chop with his team performing so poorly and Southampton’s fans turning against him.

At the end, it looked as though the players had lost faith in his methods and the Saints must now look for their third manager of the season. It looks unlikely that they will be in place before the weekend.

To lose nine of their last 10 matches shows why they are bottom of the league and you cannot see how they will secure safety this season without a dramatic turn of events. They will need a very experienced manager to do so.

Their players could see this as a free hit of sorts – a game they are not even remotely expected to win and could therefore let the handbrake off and go for it.

Star Man – James Ward-Prowse

Whoever comes in as manager will undoubtedly use Ward-Prowse as his key player to build the team around. He is the one player that performs consistently from one week to the next.