Chelsea’s forwards should regain their goal-scoring form at Hughes’ Soton

Chelsea have scored nine goals against Mark Hughes’ clubs this season. Hughes is with a different team in the relegation zone than the earlier meetings, but the attackers should still use this fixture as a confidence-builder.

Both times Chelsea played Stoke City this season, Mark Hughes and the Potters were in 13th place as the Blues romped to 4-0 and 5-0 wins. Stoke are now in 19th place, after sacking Mark Hughes. Hughes landed on his feet, and not far away as the table is concerned. He has Southampton one point above Stoke in 19th place. Chelsea beat the Saints 1-0 in December, but that was the Mauricio Pelligrino version. The Blues should aim to treat this Southampton like they do all Hughes’ teams.

Six Chelsea players combined for the nine goals against Hughes’ Stoke. Of the five Blues with a single Premier League goal this season, two – Danny Drinkwater and Davide Zappacosta – scored theirs in the December fixture. Pedro scored one in each game, meaning 50% of his league goals this season are courtesy of Hughes and the Potters. Alvaro Morata scored a hat trick against them in September, accounting for just over one-quarter of his output.

Except for Willian, all of Chelsea’s forwards need a confidence and stat boost. Alvaro Morata ended his slump which traced back to Boxing Day, scoring two goals and an assist in his last three games. But he will want to end the season the way he started it, with six goals in six games.

Eden Hazard last scored on February 12, when he netted a double against West Bromwich Albion. He has become more lively and involved in recent games (small consolation after going missing against Barcelona and the Manchester clubs). But he needs to get on the scoresheet repeatedly during the run-in to avoid his second-lowest season for goal creation.

Must Read: Danny Drinkwater, Tiemoue Bakayoko want answers Chelsea cannot give

Chelsea’s third-leading scorer, Marcos Alonso, has not scored in the Premier League since January 3. He has one goal since in the FA Cup and hit the post against Barcelona. If the Blues can draw free kicks on the right side of the box, Alonso will be ready.

Pedro’s last two goals were also in the FA Cup. He last netted in the Premier League against Stoke on December 30. In his recent appearances his decision-making has been even worse than his touches. Any hope he has of staying at Chelsea or at least earning a decent transfer could hinge on his ability to exploit these weak opponents in the final weeks.

And finally, Chelsea still have one starting XI regular without a single goal to his name. Andreas Christensen has not opened his account in any competition with the Blues’ first team. He scored seven times in his two years on loan at Borussia Monchengladbach, but has only managed to put a few headers over the bar this season. Olivier Giroud has also not scored a Premier League goal for Chelsea, albeit on far fewer minutes.

Southampton have conceded three goals in each of their last three games – all losses. The first two of those were against Newcastle and West Ham, ranked 16th and 17th at the time. Both clubs blanked the Saints. In the third game, Southampton scored two against Arsenal for a 3-2 loss. Chelsea, though, have not scored three goals since February 12 against one of the two teams in worse shape than the Saints: 20th-place West Brom.

Next: Chelsea need reinforcements but should not be Jean Seri's safety club

Southampton under Mark Hughes should be an opportunity for the Blues to have some happy hunting on the south coast. If Chelsea struggle to score on Saturday, they can hardly expect anything better in the remaining games.