Chelsea Team news: Injuries, suspensions and line-up vs Southampton

Nizaar Kinsella

Chelsea Team news: Injuries, suspensions and line-up vs Southampton image

Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri is preparing his side for a trip to Southampton as he aims to put together an unlikely title challenge against both Manchester City and Liverpool in the Premier League.

The Blues were involved in a classic last weekend as Daniel Sturridge's last minute wondergoal denied them a win in a 1-1 draw against Liverpool at Stamford Bridge.

Meanwhile, Southampton have won just once in their opening seven games and sit in a disappointing 16th place. Their last games against Chelsea came in a double header last season, as Olivier Giroud inspired a league comeback from 2-0 down against the Saints to win 3-2 last season. Then he went and scored a beautiful goal at Wembley to knock Hughes's side out at the semi-final stage of the FA Cup.


Chelsea injuries


Chelsea have no injury concerns ahead of Sunday's game after they welcomed Pedro and Ruben Loftus-Cheek back against MOL Vidi in mid-week.

Pedro came back after suffering a shoulder injury against PAOK in the Europa League two weeks ago. Sarri has been training with his full compliment of players ahead of the trip to Southampton.

Pedro Chelsea 2018-19


Chelsea suspensions


Chelsea have no suspensions to contend with ahead of kick off.


Chelsea potential starting line-up


Sarri will welcome having his full squad available as he looks to manage Chelsea's two game per week schedule. The Premier League workload is added to by Chelsea's efforts in the Europa League and Carabao Cup.

Willian is the only player at the club to have started in each of the last five games and keeps his place ahead of Willian. Ross Barkley is preferred to Mateo Kovacic in midfield.

Eden Hazard, Olivier Giroud, Marcos Alonso, Jorginho, Antonio Rudiger, David Luiz, Cesar Azpilicueta and N'Golo Kante were all rested in mid-week and come into the game fresh.

The Blues boss will likely stick to his same line up that has helped him stay one of five teams in the English football to remain undefeated. He will stick with his favoured 4-3-3 formation to try to get all three points versus Mark Hughes on Sunday.

Chelsea XI vs Southampton


Southampton team news


Shane Long has another problem with his toe and looks doutbful to face Chelsea, but otherwise, Southampton have a complete squad available to them on Sunday.

TV channel & kick-off time


The game kicks off at 1.15pm BST (08.15 ET) on Sunday and it will be shown on SkySports in the United Kingdom.


Best Opta match facts


  • Southampton have lost each of their last six matches against Chelsea in all competitions, including three last season (two in the Premier League, one in the FA Cup).

  • Chelsea have lost just one of their 11 visits to St. Mary’s against Southampton (W8 D2), winning each of their last three in a row.

  • Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud has scored in each of his last four matches against Southampton in all competitions (five goals), with three of those games coming as a substitute.

  • Chelsea’s Olivier Giroud has played 199 Premier League games, and could become the 17th French player to reach 200 in the competition.

  • Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri could become the sixth manager to remain unbeaten in his first eight Premier League games, after Frank Clark (first 11), John Lyall, Peter Taylor, Jose Mourinho and Felipe Scolari (first eight).

Nizaar Kinsella

Nizaar Kinsella Photo

Nizaar Kinsella is a Chelsea correspondent with experience covering international football at the World Cup and European Championships. He is a trusted voice within the Chelsea community, attending almost every game and having spent many years doing so. Coverage on Goal.com has seen him invited onto CNN, BBC Radio 5 Live, TalkSport and BeINSports to comment on the turbulent world of the Stamford Bridge club. He previously worked for the Daily Mirror and BBC Radio Manchester, as well as a period working in the UK charity sector.