:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/65402936/946252878.jpg.0.jpg)
Since the 7-1 thrashing of League Two side Grimsby Town in the League Cup last month, things have been on the up and up for Chelsea. Although our struggles with set pieces persist, we have are on a far less rocky path than at the starts of the season.
Before we head to yet another two-week pause thanks to international "football", we have the chance to extend our current winning streak to four matches by coming out with a victory from our trip to Southampton this Sunday — something that we also managed last year!
Chances might be in our favour, given current form and past results. But as Tottenham have shown this weekend at Brighton, you can never drop your guard.
Date / Time: Sunday, October 6, 2019, 14.00 BST; 9am EDT; 6:30pm IST
Venue: St. Mary’s Stadium, Southampton, England
Referee: Paul Tierney — who was involved in our wins against Newcastle (2-1), Huddersfield (5-0) and Watford (3-0) last season
Forecast: Sunny and a moderate breeze
On TV: Sky Sports Main Event (UK); none (USA); Star Sports Select 2 (India); SuperSport 5, Canal+ Sport 2 (NGA); elsewhere
Streaming: SKY GO Extra (UK); NBC Sports Gold (USA); Hotstar VIP (India); DStv Now (NGA)
Southampton team news: It's not been an optimal start to the season. The team led by former RB Leipzig manager Ralph Hasenhüttl are in bad shape in the Premier League, with only two wins in seven matches in the competition. Neither of those have come at home, where they have endured a record of one draw and two losses, with three goals scored and six suffered.
Their cause will not be helped this weekend by the absences of defender Cédric Soares and winger Moussa Djenepo, the latter being one of their main goalscorers so far this season with two goals in three league matches. But they still carry the menace of players such as midfielder James Ward-Prowse, whose set piece delivery can very well be a major source of annoyance. And former Blues in Oriol Romeu and Ryan Bertrand are still making the rounds at St. Mary’s.
View from the enemy: St. Mary’s Musings
Chelsea team news: We still are a few weeks away from having some of our strongest players back in action, with Emerson, Antonio Rüdiger and Ruben Loftus-Cheek all still recovering from their injuries. But we are looking quite good these days, especially after the return of N’Golo Kanté.
Still, we have yet to grab two consecutive wins in the Premier League this season. It does not help that while we have a very potent attack, with 14 goals scored in seven league matches, our defence has been equally porous, with 13 goals suffered thus far. At least our away form is quite good — two wins, one loss in three games.
Previously: We were looking for more goals from Maurizio Sarri’s side at the beginning of last season, and we got exactly that at St. Mary's to the tune of 3-0, with goals from Eden Hazard, Ross Barkley and Álvaro Morata.