Chelsea will be aiming to halt their recent losing run on Saturday as they travel to St Mary’s to take on Southampton. The Blues have been defeated in each of their last two matches, those losses coming against Brentford and Real Madrid.
Current Blues boss Thomas Tuchel has never suffered a run of three consecutive defeats during his tenure at Stamford Bridge and will be hoping to avoid that fate on the south coast. One thing that will certainly help Chelsea ’s task against Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men will be the fact that the Saints are set to be missing a number of key men for the clash.
Chief among those is Albanian striker Armando Broja. The on-loan Chelsea man has enjoyed a brilliant debut season in the Premier League with Southampton having netted nine goals in all competitions.
READ MORE: Full Chelsea squad revealed for Southampton as Thomas Tuchel faces Champions League headache
However, the terms of his loan switch from Stamford Bridge prevent him from playing against his parent club in what will be a considerable blow for the Saints. In his absence, Che Adams and Adam Armstrong are the most likely to lead the line.
On the topic of strikers though, Hasenhuttl might be unable to call upon one of his veteran options. After coming off the bench in a 1-1 draw against Leeds United last time out, Shane Long picked up an ankle injury. Despite returning to training, it appears unlikely that he will be able to appear in the matchday squad.
Hasenhuttl said: "Long was not involved in the sessions so far. He was light training outside with his ankle injury. Not that serious, we made a scan immediately and he rested for two days.”
Whilst the Irishman appears to be restricted to the sidelines, he looks likely to join Alex McCarthy and Lyanco in being out of the side. The 32-year-old goalkeeper was previously first-choice for the Saints but has been out of the side for the past four months with a thigh injury. He too has returned to training but the clash with Chelsea could come too soon.
The same could well be said of Brazilian defender Lyanco. After impressing earlier in the season, he suffered from a long-term hamstring issue and whilst he has stepped up his recovery, the defender might well be ruled out once again.
