Winless in the last five, Southampton welcomes the Blues at the St Mary's Stadium in an attempt to finally get a win. However, this is going to be such an important game for the guests, who are in danger of losing the top four if they fail to triumph here. Chelsea has been the third-best English team this season, behind Manchester City and Liverpool. Thomas Tuchel's men are on a two-game losing streak, coming from a 1-3 Champions League defeat against Real Madrid. A 1-4 debacle to Brentford ended the Blues' six-game winning streak. Chelsea is victorious in its previous seven away matches, the last one being a 2-0 win over Middlesbrough.

The Saints have lost in four of their last five matches. Ralph Hasenhuttl's squad hasn't performed at its best recently, and has lost three consecutive home duels. The team's last game at St Mary's was vs. Manchester City, which resulted in the hosts losing 4-1. The last time Southampton hosted Chelsea on this field finished in a 1-1 tie, which put an end to Chelsea's five-game winning streak vs. the hosts here. The hosts are winless vs. this opponent since 2013, and are not expected to triumph in the upcoming duel either. The Saints are going to the meeting without Alex McCarthy, Lyanco, Shane Long, and their key striker Armando Broja.

Chelsea will miss Ben Chilwell and Callum Hudson-Odoi ahead of the visit. After a phenomenal 2021 run, that saw the Blues raising the UEFA Champions League trophy, this season has been a bit shaky for the visitors. Tuchel's squad was expected to fight for the league title, with them also bringing one of the best strikers in Europe to the club, a Belgian international Romelu Lukaku. He is having a poor season, scoring only five goals in the Premier League so far. A win here would most likely secure the third place for Chelsea, and will give them motivation for the big second-leg game vs. Real Madrid.

I see the guests winning here as the only outcome. Good luck!

本译文使用有道机器翻译，仅供参考：

在过去的五场失利中，南安普敦在圣玛丽体育场欢迎蓝军，并试图最终取得胜利。然而，这对宾客来说将是一场非常重要的比赛，如果他们不能在这里获胜，他们将面临失去前四名的危险。切尔西在本赛季的英格兰最佳球队中排名第三，仅次于曼城和利物浦。托马斯·图切尔的球队在欧冠1-3负于皇家马德里后，连续两场失利。1比4惨败给布伦特福德，结束了蓝军的六连胜。切尔西在之前的七场客场比赛中都取得了胜利，最近的一场比赛是2-0战胜米德尔斯堡。

圣徒队在最近的五场比赛中输了四场。拉尔夫·哈森胡泰的队伍最近表现不佳，已经连续输了三场主场决斗。该队在圣玛丽球场的最后一场比赛是对阵曼城队，结果主场4-1失利。南安普顿上一次在这里主场迎战切尔西时，以1-1战平，终结了切尔西在这里对阵东道主的五连胜。自2013年以来，这对东道主就没有赢过这对对手，而且在即将到来的决斗中也不可能获胜。圣徒队将在没有亚历克斯·麦卡锡、利安科、肖恩·朗和他们的关键前锋阿曼多·布罗哈的情况下参加比赛。

切尔西将会错过本·奇尔维尔和卡勒姆·哈德森-奥多尼。在经历了2021年的出色表现后，蓝军举起了欧洲冠军联赛的奖杯，这个赛季对客队来说有点不稳定。图切尔的球队有望为联赛冠军而战，同时他们也为俱乐部带来了欧洲最好的前锋之一，比利时国脚罗梅卢·卢卡库。他这个赛季表现不佳，到目前为止在英超只进了5个球。如果在这里获胜，切尔西很有可能获得第三名的位置，并将为他们在第二回合对阵皇家马德里的比赛中提供动力。

看好切尔西赢球。