Chelsea vs. Southampton lineups, expected starting 11, confirmed team news, injuries: New defensive injury as Maresca backs Jorgensen

Chelsea will hope to rediscover their form when Southampton visit as part of a midweek slate of Premier League matches.

The Blues suffered a 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa last time out after taking an early lead at Villa Park, meaning they have now lost four of their past five games in all competitions.

Patience among fans has begun to wear thin amid a generally poor run of form that has seen Chelsea win only three games since a 5-1 Conference League victory over Shamrock Rovers.

While they remain firmly in the race for UEFA Champions League qualification, Enzo Maresca’s side come into this match in seventh place in the standings and in desperate need of a lift.

Southampton, meanwhile, are in dire straits.

With just nine points from 26 games played and a 13-point gap to safety, their battle against relegation is looking forlorn.

The Sporting News looks at the latest team news and predicted lineups for the game.

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Chelsea vs. Southampton lineups, predicted starting 11, team newsMaresca confirmed on Monday that Trevoh Chalobah is facing up to 10 days out after hurting his back in the loss to Villa. Tosin Adarabioyo replaced him off the bench at Villa Park and is likely to start here.

The Chelsea boss insisted that Filip Jorgensen remains first choice in goal despite his critical error in letting Marco Asensio’s winning goal slip through his grasp.

Any further changes to the team are likely to come in attack. Enzo Fernandez scored the opening goal after being deployed as a No. 10, so he may keep that position, which would mean captain Reece James continuing in central midfield. 

Jadon Sancho may come back into the lineup in place of Christopher Nkunku if Maresca decides to go with Pedro Neto as the centre-forward.

Chelsea predicted lineup (4-2-3-1, right to left): Jorgensen (GK) — Gusto, Adarabioyo, Colwill, Cucurella — James, Caicedo — Palmer, Fernandez, Sancho — Neto

Injured: Guiu, Jackson, Madueke, Lavia, Fofana, Badiashile, Kellyman (all thigh injuries), Chalobah (back)
Suspended: Mudryk (doping violation)

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Defender Jan Bednarek limped off in the 4-0 loss to Brighton & Hove Albion, and the experienced centre-back is likely to miss out here.

Taylor Harwood-Bellis is still sidelined with an injury suffered in the win over Ipswich Town, while Adam Lallana is a doubt with a hamstring issue.

Ryan Fraser and Ross Stewart are still working on their recoveries. Lesley Ugochukwu is ineligible to face his parent club, so Will Smallbone will likely come in.

Southampton predicted lineup (3-4-3, right to left): Ramsdale (GK) — Bree, Bella-Kotchap, Aribo — Walker-Peters, Smallone, Fernandes, Welington — Dibling, Archer, Sulemana

Injured: Bednarek (knock), Harwood-Bellis (foot/ankle), Lallana (hamstring), Fraser, Stewart (both lower leg)
Suspended: None
Ineligible: Ugochukwu

Chelsea vs. Southampton live stream, TV channelHere’s how to watch this Premier League match across selected areas of the world’s major regions:

RegionTVStreamingUSA—PeacockCanada—FuboUKTNT Sports 1discovery+Australia—Optus SportIndia—Disney+ Hotstar, JioCinema

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