Every Match a Cup Final for Chelsea
Having booked their place in the FA Cup final on the weekend, thanks to an excellent 4-2 win over Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley, all thoughts now turn to the Premier League title for Chelsea.
To say each match is now like a cup final for the Blues is an understatement and Antonio Conte’s team have five games with which to clinch the Premier League before meeting Arsenal in the FA Cup and the potential of a league and cup double.
Conte surprised many by leaving out both Diego Costa and Eden Hazard from his starting XI in the FA Cup semi-final on the weekend. However, the manager was proved right with Hazard’s replacement, Willian, stepping in and scoring two goals before Hazard came off the bench later in the game to make the difference.
Many onlookers felt Tottenham were the better team for much of the game and they did enjoy spells of good pressure but Chelsea proved why they are top of the league by clinically taking their chances when they came. Conte will expect more of the same when they entertain Southampton in the Premier League on Tuesday night.
Trends show Chelsea have lost two of their last four Premier League games but the overall picture looks much more promising. Chelsea are undefeated in fifteen of their last sixteen home matches in all competitions and have lost only three of their previous twenty-six home games in the Premier League.
Defeats for Chelsea, especially at home, come sporadically and having recently lost to Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge, Conte will be hoping it was the last home defeat of the season and statistics show that’s likely to be the case.
Southampton travel to London having not played a game on the weekend meaning they have had 10 days to think about their 3-0 home defeat at the hands of Manchester City. That was Southampton’s first defeat in four Premier League games and Claude Puel will be hoping to start another run of matches without defeat heading towards the end of the season.
Sitting 9th in the Premier League table, Southampton have been inconsistent this season and despite finishing well clear of the relegation zone are not going trouble any of the teams in the top seven places.
Having endured a tough time of things away from home earlier in the season, winning only two of their eleven games, Southampton’s away form has improved of late. Trends show the Saints have won three of their last four away league games, which is more than they managed between the whole of August and January and will be hoping to make it four from five with victory at Stamford Bridge.
The only major injury concern for Chelsea ahead of this match is Gary Cahill and the defender may have to wait until the weekend to make a comeback to the team. Southampton have Charlie Austin back in training but will miss the impressive Virgil van Dijk at the back, who is out for the season with an ankle injury.
Chelsea’s toughest remaining fixture this season is Everton away on Sunday. They can make that game much easier by taking maximum points from this one. Having bounced back from the defeat to Manchester United by beating their closest league challengers in the FA Cup semi-final, Chelsea should have more than enough to win this game and take another step towards the Premier League title.
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