CHELSEA will be looking to get their season back on track when they welcome Southampton to Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
The Blues had made a strong start to the campaign but they were handed a bruising reality check by champions Man City, who won 1-0 in west London last weekend.
That setback marked Chelsea's first defeat of the season and a second soon followed, with the European kings crashing to a 1-0 Champions League loss at Juventus on Wednesday night,
Thomas Tuchel will demand a response from his team this weekend and a fixture with Southampton may just be what they need to reignite their season.
Ralph Hasenhuttl's side are still searching for their first victory of the campaign, but they have earned four draws against some notable opposition – Man City, Man United, Newcastle and West Ham
That said, last weekend's 1-0 loss at home to Wolves extended the Saints winless run to six matches and they may need to wait a little longer to land their maiden league win of the season.
Outright Betting
Chelsea have avoided defeat in 10 of their last 11 meetings with Southampton and the Blues are unsurprisingly big favourites on Saturday at 7/17 with SBK.
Southampton are still seeking their first win of the season but a Saints success this weekend is whopping 9/1 at SBK while share of the spoils has been priced up at 41/10 (SBK) with the same firm.
Betting Angles
Chelsea are worthy favourites here but the aforementioned price on a home win is far too short to side with so I'll head to the Bet Builder market to get a bigger price.
Combining Chelsea to win and under four match goals will bring about an appetising 23/20 (Bet 365) play that makes plenty of appeal.
Chelsea chief Tuchel will be keen to see his side rediscover the defensive solidity he instilled from the very first moment he arrived, with under 3.5 strikes copping in 39/41 Blues fixtures under the German's stewardship.
In fact, the Chelsea win and under four match goal combo has clicked in all but one of the west Londoners Premier League triumphs under the tactically-astute Tuchel's tutelage.
Meanwhile, Southampton have shored thing up that the back, with Hasenhuttl's Saints shutting out both Man City and West Ham in recent top-flight tussles, not to mention only one match goal has been scored in the last three Premier League games involving the men from St Mary's
With all things considered, the 23/20 (Bet 365) about Chelsea to win and under four match goals looks like an attractive betting proposition at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
I'll also dip into the anytime goalscorer market and take the 4/5 with UniBet for Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku to get on the scoresheet.
The Belgian forward has gone four games without a goal, but he tends to shine against the Saints – Lukaku has faced Southampton on 12 previous occasions, notching up nine strikes in the process.
This English Premier League match between Chelsea and Southampton will be played on Oct 2, 2021 and kick off at 15:00. Check below for our tipsters best Chelsea vs Southampton prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
