Under-fire Chelsea manager Graham Potter desperately needs a win as his team prepare to take on last-placed Southampton on Saturday.
Chelsea vs Southampton odds
Here are the latest match odds for Chelsea vs Southampton from Spreadex.
- Chelsea: 2/5
- Draw: 15/4
- Southampton: 9/1
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Chelsea vs Southampton predictions
On the balance of play, Chelsea were unfortunate to lose to Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday night.
Karim Adeyemi’s superb goal was ultimately the difference between the teams in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie, but the Blues justifiably felt hard done by to leave Signal Iduna Park empty-handed.
Yet although there were positives to take from their performance, this was yet another poor result for Chelsea.
Only one of their last nine matches in all competitions has ended in victory. Even that was a slender 1-0 triumph over out-of-form Crystal Palace.
Chelsea’s season is in danger of being all but over before spring. They are already out of the FA Cup and the EFL Cup, and are on the back foot in their Champions League tie.
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In the Premier League, they are 10 points adrift of the top four and just three above the bottom half.
Potter has yet to convince Chelsea fans that he is the man to take this expensively assembled team forward.
Most supporters continue to lament Todd Boehly’s decision to sack Thomas Tuchel after a mixed start to the season.
Potter needs to get more wins under his belt quickly, or he could find that he is the latest victim of Chelsea’s long-standing hire-and-fire culture.
Chelsea vs Southampton betting tips
Chelsea have had a difficult 2023 on the pitch, but they should return to winning ways when managerless Southampton visit Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea to win to nil – Evens (Spreadex)
The Premier League table does not make for pretty reading for either of these two teams.
But whereas Chelsea will still be playing in this division next season, Southampton’s top-flight status is hanging in the balance.
The Saints are bottom of the standings and four points adrift of safety as they prepare to take on Potter’s team.
Nathan Jones’ disastrous tenure was brought to an end last weekend after Southampton suffered their seventh defeat in his eight league matches at the helm.
The team went backwards under the former Luton Town boss, who may struggle to get another Premier League job on the back of his stint at St Mary’s.
Southampton looked set to appoint Marsch as Jones’ replacement, only for discussions to collapse earlier this week. There is now talk that caretaker boss Ruben Selles could be handed the reins until the end of the campaign.
All of this means Southampton’s preparation for Saturday’s match has been less than ideal. It is imperative that Chelsea take full advantage.
We are backing them to do so. The Blues are still struggling to score goals, but as anyone who watched the Dortmund game will know, they have at least become much better at creating chances.
Meanwhile, only Arsenal and Newcastle United have conceded fewer goals than Chelsea this season, with the Magpies the only team to have shipped fewer in home games.
Chelsea/Chelsea half-time/full-time – 21/20 (Spreadex)
All is not lost for Southampton yet. Despite their dire run of form in recent weeks, they are potentially just two wins away from climbing above the dreaded dotted line.
Selles does not have any senior managerial experience, but he is said to be an astute coach and the players will be giving everything for him this weekend.
However, Southampton’s young team is short of confidence right now and the visitors will find it difficult at Stamford Bridge.
The 2-1 defeat by Wolverhampton Wanderers last time out would have been particularly painful. The Saints took the lead and played against 10 men for the majority of the match, yet they still lost 2-1 in front of their own fans.
It may take some time for Selles or a new permanent manager to restore some belief to the Southampton camp.
Chelsea have been slow starters this season. They have scored just 10 goals in the first half of matches. Only Nottingham Forest, Everton and Southampton have been less prolific in the opening 45 minutes.
But with Joao Felix in top form and Mykhailo Mudryk starting to find his feet, Chelsea have the attacking talent to make an early breakthrough here.
And if they were to get their noses in front in the first half, it would be a long way back for Southampton.
Chelsea 1-0 Southampton half-time – 11/5 (Spreadex)
The correct score market is a tough one to predict, but the odds available on this particular wager on make it worthy of consideration.
As we have established, Chelsea do not score many goals in the first half. But they do not concede many either. In fact, no team in the Premier League has less eventful opening periods in terms of the total number of goals.
Given that Southampton have found the back of the net just three times in the first half away from home, the evidence suggests the opening 45 minutes on Saturday will not be particularly high-scoring.
Selles would probably consider it a success to get to the interval at 0-0.
Southampton will look to break forward when they can, but the priority will be to stay in the game until the second half.
But if Chelsea pick up from where they left off against Borussia Dortmund, they will fancy their chances of taking an early lead.
How to watch Chelsea vs Southampton
- Location: Stamford Bridge, London, England.
- Date and time: Saturday 18 February 2023, 3pm.
- How to watch: Not being shown live in the UK.
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