Preview: Chelsea vs. Southampton

Following a torrid start to the Premier League season, Chelsea will try to get their campaign on track when they go head to head with Southampton at Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening.

Jose Mourinho's English champions have squandered 13 points after seven games, while Southampton are also struggling for wins having grabbed just two in the top flight so far.

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Chelsea

If the pressure was not already on Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, it is now following reports that some of his senior players have concerns that the Portuguese coach is using some of their teammates as scapegoats for the Blues' poor start to the season.

The West London outfit are defending champions, but they look far from winners at the moment having won just twice in seven league games, which has left them languishing in 14th place in the table, eight points adrift of current leaders Manchester United.

It is not just the defeats themselves that are a concern, but the manner in which they have happened - last season's top stars including Eden Hazard, Cesc Fabregas, Diego Costa and Branislav Ivanovic have so far failed to produce the same consistent performances from their title-winning campaign.

Added to that, Mourinho has made a surprise decision to keep captain John Terry out of the starting lineup for four of the Blues' last five games in all competitions, which has been met with questions as the centre-back played every single minute of Chelsea's Premier League campaign last season.

To extend Chelsea's misery further, they suffered a 2-1 defeat to Mourinho's former club Porto in the Champions League in midweek, with Hazard and Nemanja Matic having been dropped to the bench, while Oscar, Loic Remy and Radamel Falcao were not even included in the travelling party.

Terry and Gary Cahill had one of the strongest centre-back pairings in the league last season, but defence has been an issue this time around considering that Chelsea have allowed 14 goals to be shipped past them in seven fixtures.

Recent form: LWLLWD Recent form (all competitions): LLWWDL

Southampton

It was a fairly sluggish start for Ronald Koeman and his side as they tried to cope with the loss of midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin, who signed for Manchester United in the summer transfer window.

It took the Saints three games to grab their first victory of the league campaign, in the form of a 3-0 triumph over newly-promoted side Norwich City, and they have only managed to grab one more since then - last weekend's 3-1 victory over Swansea City.

The coastal club will aim to take advantage of Chelsea's current form, and it comes at a good time as attacking trio Dusan Tadic, Sadio Mane and Graziano Pelle are beginning to find their stride having scored eight league goals between them.

Mane in particular has impressed by making three assists in seven games, which was as many as he managed all season in the 2014-15 campaign.

With the Blues' defence being less than reliable at the moment, Southampton may have a decent chance of scoring at Stamford Bridge, which would set them up nicely for fixtures against Leicester City, Liverpool and Bournemouth after the international break.

The danger for Southampton is that they are not as comfortable away as they are at home, having failed to win once in 10 league games on the road, which, along with Newcastle United, is the longest current away run.

Recent form: LDWDLW Recent form (all competitions): DWDLWW

Team News

Hazard was relegated to the bench for the midweek game against Porto, but is likely to return to the starting fold for Chelsea on Saturday evening.

Diego Costa will be unavailable as he continues to serve a suspension, meaning that Remy could be given the nod, with support from Pedro.

Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois remains out of action with injury, so Asmir Begovic, who has conceded seven goals in all competitions, will keep his place in between the sticks.

The question mark is over who will start in defence, and following the showing against Porto, Mourinho might put his faith back in John Terry, with Kurt Zouma likely to step aside.

For the visitors, Mane, Tadic and Pelle are expected to continue their roles in attack, while Ryan Bertrand could continue his reintegration into the side following a spell out with injury.

Jordy Clasie is said to be closing in on a return to fitness, so could be named on the bench for the encounter at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea possible starting lineup: Begovic; Ivanovic, Terry, Cahill, Azpilicueta; Matic, Fabregas; Pedro, Oscar, Hazard; Remy

Southampton possible starting lineup: Stekelenburg; Cedric, Fonte, Van Dijk, Bertrand; Wanyama, Ward-Prowse; Tadic, Davis, Mane; Pelle

Head To Head

It may be drib and drab for Jose Mourinho at the moment, but he can take comfort from the fact that he has never lost a league match to Southampton, having overseen four victories and two draws.

The plus side for the Saints is that they have managed to snatch a win at Stamford Bridge, but it has only been once out of 13 visits to the West London stadium.

Last season, both fixtures in the league finished as 1-1 draws, with Costa and Tadic scoring in the game at the Bridge.

Video Preview

Hit play below to see what the Sports Mole Sofa had to say about this encounter:

We say: Chelsea 1-1 Southampton

Chelsea will be determined to stop the rot by claiming all three points this weekend, but the lack of consistency from their top performers are likely to cause them problems once again. Should the Blues tighten up in defence, it could be a close contest, and considering the previous meetings between these two, there would be no surprise if this game ended with each side taking a point apiece.