Chelsea’s strikers could both pad their scoresheets and shake off the banter on Sunday’s fixture at Southampton. The Saints were Alvaro Morata’s and Olivier Giroud’s favourite targets last spring.
Chelsea scored five goals across two meetings with Southampton eight days apart in April. The strikers scored four of those goals. Olivier Giroud scored a brace in the Premier League fixture, and then he and Alvaro Morata each scored one to give Chelsea a 2-0 win in the FA Cup semi-finals. As it turned out, that was the end of the good times.
Since that cup tie, Olivier Giroud has scored one goal for Chelsea (two weeks later against Liverpool) and one for France. Alvaro Morata has also scored two goals, one in the Premier League and one in the Europa League. In that same span, Eden Hazard has scored 10 goals for Chelsea: the winner in the FA Cup final, seven in the Premier League and one each in the Carabao Cup and Europa League. Oh, and four others for Belgium in the World Cup and Nations League.
Beyond those two games at the end of last season, Southampton is one of Olivier Giroud’s favourite opponents. Over the course of his time in England he has scored eight goals against the Saints in all competition, the joint-most against any team.
Both players also love seeing Mark Hughes on the opposite touchline. While at Arsenal, Giroud had three goals against Hughes’ Stoke City. Alvaro Morata also has three goals against Sparky’s Stoke, all coming in matchweek six of last season. Morata’s hat trick at bet365 Stadium was part of his perfect start to his time at Chelsea. He was already slipping into his second-half funk when the two sides met at Stamford Bridge to close at 2017. Morata did not score that night, but five his teammates did for a 5-0 win.
The Blues have averaged only one goal a game in the five games since they hung four on Cardiff City. This trip to the coast is the perfect time for them to pad their goal differential while nabbing three points, especially as Liverpool face Manchester City later on Sunday.
If that game ends in a draw and the Blues win, all three teams will be at 20 points. A three-goal margin at St. Mary’s Park will nudge Chelsea ahead of Liverpool into second-place on goal differential. While matchweek eight is far too early to start projecting outcomes for the title race, the Premier League table could come down to tie-breakers in May given the top teams’ current form. Goal differential could factor into the title race or Champions League spots, and games like this will take on a lot of retrospective importance.
The combination of Mark Hughes and Southampton was nearly alchemical for Chelsea’s offence last season. The strikers, in particular, have fond memories of those games. With both Olivier Giroud and Alvaro Morata needing a psychological jolt to get back to their goal-scoring ways, this fixture has everything lining up in their favour. Giroud will almost certainly lead the line in the starting XI, giving him the first go-around at Hughes’ defence.
Hopefully Giroud will get the job done early so Maurizio Sarri can send on Alvaro Morata for his share of the spoils. Morata loosened the monkey on his back with his goal against MOL Vidi. Any minutes he has could be enough to hurl the primate far, far away.