Chelsea host Southampton as Enzco Maresca’s men aim to get back on track.
Chelsea vs Southampton best bets
- Chelsea -2.5 Asian handicap – 6/4 with SBK
- Chelsea/Chelsea half-time/full-time – 8/13 with Betfred
- Pedro Neto to score any time – 41/20 with BetMGM
Chelsea vs Southampton odds
Find the latest match odds for Chelsea vs Southampton. All odds are provided by our best football betting sites. Odds are subject to change.
Chelsea vs Southampton predictions
It feels like a long time ago now, but back in mid-December Chelsea were being spoken of as potential Premier League title contenders.
Since then, the Stamford Bridge faithful has had little to cheer about. Chelsea have accumulated just nine points from their last 10 games. Only four teams in the division have a worse record in that period.
Thankfully, Chelsea are playing one of them in the midweek round of fixtures. Southampton are on their way back to the Championship, so Chelsea are strong favourites to triumph on Tuesday. Even so, Enzo Maresca’s men need to buck up their ideas.
Needless to say, no one in west London is talking about the title now. Chelsea have a fight on their hands to even qualify for the Champions League, for which a fifth-place finish would almost certainly be sufficient.
The latest setback came at Villa Park on Saturday. Chelsea were the better team in the first half. They opened the scoring in the ninth minute through Enzo Fernandez and continued to threaten thereafter.
Aston Villa fought their way back into proceedings in the second period, though, and a Marco Asensio double turned the match on its head. Chelsea had chances on the break, but their failure to take one of them meant they departed Birmingham empty-handed.
There is plenty of competition for the Champions League berths, a fact which further complicates Chelsea’s task. Despite their struggles, Manchester City should get over the line. Newcastle United and Aston Villa are also in the conversation, while surprise packages Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth cannot be written off.
Chelsea have looked somewhat rigid of late. Maresca is a positional coach and his team lacks spontaneity at times.
The goalkeeper situation is less than ideal, with neither Robert Sanchez nor Filip Jorgensen having convinced. Cole Palmer has suffered an untimely dip in form, while the absence of a natural replacement for Nicolas Jackson up front is a remarkable oversight given how many players the club has signed recently.
Back-to-back home games against Southampton and Leicester City offer Chelsea a golden chance to get back on track. Handsome victories in those two games would restore confidence to the camp and, in all likelihood, move Chelsea back into the top five. They cannot afford to pass this opportunity up.
Chelsea vs Southampton betting tips
Chelsea entertain Southampton in the midweek round of fixtures in the Premier League.
Chelsea -2.5 Asian handicap
This has been a truly dismal season for Southampton. With just nine points to their name, they are in danger of going down as one of the worst teams in Premier League history.
Ivan Juric did not pull any punches after watching his team fall to a 4-0 defeat by Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday.
“It was just a huge difference, there is nothing more to say, really from the beginning to the end there was an incredible difference between the two teams,” he told BBC Sport. “It was an awful game, a disaster and we played really bad.”
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Chelsea have the chance to return to winning ways with a flourish and give a boost to their goal difference, which could end up being decisive in the top-five race.
Another three-goal defeat (or worse) awaits Southampton in this one.
Tip Chelsea -2.5 Asian handicap at 6/4 with SBK
Chelsea/Chelsea half-time/full-time
Chelsea will aim to make a quick start on Tuesday, which is something they managed to do at Villa Park.
Maresca’s side usually get out of the traps quickly: they sit fifth in the first-half table but 11th in the second-half standings. Southampton will struggle to preserve parity until the interval.
And while the Blues are finding life difficult at opposition grounds at the moment, they have taken seven points from the last nine available at Stamford Bridge.
Southampton resemble a Championship team more than a Premier League one, and the gulf in class should be apparent from the get-go.
Chelsea are likely to be ahead after both 45 and 90 minutes.
Go for Chelsea to score any time at 8/13 with Betfred
Pedro Neto to score any time
In the absence of the injured Jackson, Maresca deployed Neto through the middle against Aston Villa.
The Portugal international was given freedom to drift across the frontline, and he did that well when he set up Fernandez’s opener.
Neto is a skilful, speedy forward and a difficult customer to defend against. But he needs to start adding to his goal tally.
Indeed, the former Wolverhampton Wanderers wide man has only scored two goals in 23 top-flight outings this term.
Neto has not started every game, granted, but he needs to improve on that return. There will be no better opportunity to start than a home match against Southampton.
Back Pedro Neto to score any time at 41/20 with BetMGM
How to watch Chelsea vs Southampton
- Location: Stamford Bridge, London, England.
- Date and time: Tuesday 25th February, 8.15pm.
- How to watch: TNT Sports 1.
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About the author
Greg Lea
Greg Lea is a freelance football writer from London. He predominantly covers the Premier League and has had work published by the Guardian, FourFourTwo, ESPN and others.
Follow Greg on X: @GregLeaFootball
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