Chelsea vs Southampton. Premier League.
Stamford BridgeAttendance41,642.
Saturday 3 October 2015 17:38, UK
Chelsea take on Southampton on Saturday evening looking for a third straight home win in all competitions.
Jose Mourinho's side suffered another setback with a Champions League defeat to Porto on Tuesday but will take comfort from the fact that they have won their last two games at Stamford Bridge, against Arsenal and Maccabi Tel Aviv.
This weekend's visitors arrive on the back of two straight wins having thrashed MK Dons 6-0 in the Capital One Cup before a 3-1 win over Swansea in their last league outing.
The two sides could not be separated last season following 1-1 draws at both St Mary's and in west London, with a Dusan Tadic penalty cancelling out Diego Costa's opener at the Bridge.
Team news
Jose Mourinho refused to say whether captain John Terry would be restored to Chelsea's starting XI for Saturday's match.
Striker Diego Costa completes his three-match suspension, so Loic Remy and Radamel Falcao could start up front, although neither travelled to Porto for Tuesday night's Champions League loss.
Oscar also stayed behind after not being selected, while goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois is out until December following knee surgery.
Southampton could add Jordy Clasie to their squad for the trip to Chelsea.
The Holland midfielder has yet to feature in the Premier League for Saints due to an ankle injury, but he has trained this week and is in contention.
Boss Ronald Koeman will otherwise choose from the same squad which beat Swansea 3-1 at St Mary's last weekend.
Opta stats
Jose Mourinho has never lost a Premier League game to Southampton (W4 D2).
Southampton have won one of their last 13 trips to Stamford Bridge, a 4-2 victory in January 2002 (D4 L8).
Both Premier League meetings between these clubs last season ended with a 1-1 scoreline, with all four goals coming in the first half.
No Premier League side has scored more headed goals this season than Southampton (4; level with Leicester), while Chelsea have conceded a league-high five goals from headers.
Jay Rodriguez has found the back of the net in two of his last three Premier League appearances against Chelsea and in three of his last five appearances against the Blues in all competitions.
Merson's prediction
Chelsea simply have to win this game, they have to win. They have to come good sooner or later. Chelsea did OK at Porto in the Champions League. They could have a got a draw out of the game which would have been a decent result.
There wasn't a lot wrong with the performance but they lost again and when you get into these ruts you lose games that you shouldn't be losing. I expect them to turn the corner in what is a must-win game before the international break.
PAUL PREDICTS: 3-1 (Sky Bet odds 12/1)
Betting
Southampton have never got the better of a Jose Mourinho team and the Sky Bet odds suggest that trend will continue with Chelsea 5/6 and the Saints 3/1 and the draw 13/5. Both meetings last season finished in draws and it's 11/2 for a third successive 1-1 outcome - the prediction of Soccer Saturday pundits Charlie Nicholas, Matt Le Tissier and Phil Thompson.
Dusan Tadic was on target in this fixture last season and has been Price Boosted to 12/1 to score in an away win, while Willian to score first and Chelsea to win 2-1 or 3-1 is available at 33/1.
