STAR FOOTBALL PREVIEW Tues: Chelsea v Southampton

2025 has been miserable for Chelsea but on all known form their supporters will surely have something to cheer when Southampton come to Stamford Bridge, writes WILLIAM KEDJANYI.

At one point the Blues were seen as the biggest threats to Liverpool in the title race by the markets, but they had a nightmare Christmas and 2025 has been just as bad. Back to back defeats to Fulham and Ipswich began a rotten run which has seen them win just three of their last 12 fixtures, one of them coming against Morecambe in the FA Cup third round.

The manner of their 3-0 defeat at Brighton two weeks ago – a defeat Enzo Maresca labelled the “toughest” of his Chelsea tenure so far – was pitiful and whilst they showed more when going down 2-1 at Aston Villa last week, their hopes of a return to the Champions League are fading quickly – they’re only four points clear of tenth place Fulham now.

Injuries to striker Nicolas Jackson and winger Noni Madueke have been heavy blows whilst Cole Palmer hasn’t scored in six matches and or registered an assist in 13, and a string of goalkeeping errors from Robert Sanchez and Filip Jorgensen have compounded their recent misery.

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CHELSEA V SOUTHAMPTON
Premier League
20:15 TNT Sports 1 HD / TNT Sports Ultimate / Discovery +

LAST FIVE STATS

HEAD-TO-HEAD
DEC 2024 PREMIER LEAGUE Southampton 1-5 Chelsea
FEB 2023 PREMIER LEAGUE Chelsea 0-1 Southampton
AUG 2022 PREMIER LEAGUE Southampton 2-1 Chelsea
APR 2022 PREMIER LEAGUE Southampton 0-6 Chelsea
OCT 2021 EFL CUP Chelsea 1-1 Southampton

CHELSEA
FEB 2025 PREMIER LEAGUE Aston Villa 2-1 Chelsea
FEB 2025 PREMIER LEAGUE Brighton 3-0 Chelsea
FEB 2025 ENGLISH FA CUP Brighton 2-1 Chelsea
FEB 2025 PREMIER LEAGUE Chelsea 2-1 West Ham
JAN 2025 PREMIER LEAGUE Man City 3-1 Chelsea

SOUTHAMPTON
FEB 2025 PREMIER LEAGUE Southampton 0-4 Brighton
FEB 2025 PREMIER LEAGUE Southampton 1-3 Bournemouth
FEB 2025 ENGLISH FA CUP Southampton 0-1 Burnley
FEB 2025 PREMIER LEAGUE Ipswich 1-2 Southampton
JAN 2025 PREMIER LEAGUE Southampton 1-3 Newcastle

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However, Southampton’s season is on course to be one of the worst seen in the history of the Premier League. They have just nine 26 games this season, and the appointment of Ivan Juric hasn’t changed a thing. A 2-1 win at Ipswich to begin February was some small cause for celebration but since then Burnley have knocked them out of the FA Cup, whilst Bournemouth and Brighton have strolled to victory at St Mary’s.

The Saints have barely been able to lay a glove on most teams and it’s hard to imagine that they can trouble Chelsea, even with the hosts in a rotten run of form. There were slight improvements from the 3-0 defeat at Brighton (who were 4-0 winners at St Mary’s on Saturday) from the Blues last week and that level of form should be enough to get the job done.

With the hosts so prohibitively priced, and the handicap line set at two goals, this may not be the best betting contest of the week and the best value with starsports.bet might be in the correct score markets. Four of Southampton’s ten away league defeats this season have been by a 3-1 scoreline, making the 17/2 on that outcome an eye-catching price, and the 7/1 about a 3-0 scoreline could be worth having onside too.

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