Chelsea must force Southampton into playing for the league, not the cup
By Travis Tyler
Chelsea face off against Southampton once more in the span of a week. The Blues must force the Saints into giving up on the cup before the whistle is blown.
A large part of football is psychological. Give a an opponent a weakness and they will exploit it. Make a bluff and then overwhelm the opponent when they fall for it. Or, in the case of Chelsea and Southampton, make the Saints give up on silverware.
Last week, Chelsea looked set to fall to Southampton. They were down two goals before Conte subbed on Pedro and Olivier Giroud as part of a formation switch. The Blues then blitzed the hapless Saints and left 3-2 victors.
Now, the two teams are set to face off on neutral ground. For a club like Chelsea, there will always be another FA Cup. But it would be massive for the Saints. The unfortunate part of their run is that they are so woeful in the league.
So Chelsea’s goal must be to convince the Saints that the FA Cup will be meaningless if they are relegated. Chelsea must make Southampton believe that even trying to win the semifinal will result in their relegation.
This battle starts simply with Antonio Conte who has already done most of his part. He has made comments in the press that imply he will field his strongest, fittest lineup. Southampton will be aware of that and no they have little chance of advancing unless they match it with their best lineup. But doing so will tire their players out with crucial Premier League games upcoming.
The second thing Chelsea can do is start Olivier Giroud. This serves two purposes. The Saints players will know that just a week ago he came on and waltzed through them for a brace. Giroud will play knowing that he has already been there and done that recently. Confidence is huge for strikers and Giroud will ooze it against the Saints.
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The other main thing Chelsea must do is attack and fight. From the kickoff, Chelsea must hound Southampton. They must attack in wave, press hard and tackle harder. Doing this for the first half hour will make Southampton back off as they did while two goals up last week. Then Chelsea can pounce.
The earlier and more aggressively Chelsea put the match to bed, the easier it will be. Southampton are already in a mentally weak spot right now. It will not take much to send them over the edge, especially with last week so fresh in their memories.
The only fear Chelsea should have is if Southampton want to copy Wigan Athletic. Wigan were relegated and made the FA Cup final. Somehow, they won. But the next season they were in the Championship while having to juggle Europa League. It did not go well for them and has yet to since.
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That is what Southampton could be looking at if they try to advance. It will matter little to Chelsea of course, but if the Saints want to play the long game, they will give up on their FA Cup dreams.