Chelsea at Southampton predicted XI: 3-4-1-2 is the only way is up
Chelsea has now suffered back-to-back home losses in all competitions. Thomas Tuchel’s men have conceded seven goals in their last two games, four against a newly promoted side and the other three against a 13-time Champions League winner. It’s obvious there are problems in this team that not any one person can solve. The Blues took more shots than Real Madrid and had more possession than the Spanish side in the UCL Quarterfinal first leg last week. In reality though, they never really came close to touching Real Madrid and the visitors had one of their easier wins of the season. Chelsea now travels to St. Mary’s Stadium in what is another must-win game for numerous reasons.
Who does The Pride of London see Tuchel trusting to pull the Blues out of this funk they’re in?
Edouard Mendy (No. 16) Goalkeeper, Senegal
The good thing about getting thrashed with your strongest back line is that it helps you not to overreact. That said, it would be no surprise if Tuchel did drop Edouard Mendy for Kepa Arrizabalaga in this important Premier League clash.
Mendy has had two poor games consecutively and the Real Madrid game was easily the worse of the two—considerably worse. Mendy had no business conceding Real Madrid’s first goal. The header was too far out to catch Mendy off guard. Don’t even get me started on the third goal either. Southampton will be well aware of Chelsea’s vulnerability at the moment and this game will be just as difficult as the last two for that reason. The Blues still comfortably occupy third place, but if they don’t clean up their act, they could find themselves in a top four struggle again.
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Cesar Azpilicueta (No. 28) Right centerback, Spain
Chelsea created two big chances in the quarterfinal first leg against Real Madrid. Interestingly, so did Los Blancos. Cesar Azpilicueta created one of the two for the Blues with a perfect cross that Romelu Lukaku headed wide. He was one of Chelsea’s better players against Real Madrid, even though that’s not saying much. Azpilicueta should be returned to right centerback for this one though, as he’s more useful to the team there.
Thiago Silva (No. 6) Centerback, Brazil
Cue the earlier statement about getting thrashed with Chelsea’s strongest back line. Thiago Silva is the best centerback at the club and one of the best in the league this season. Yet, even he was present and couldn’t stop the Blues from getting embarrassed at home in the last two games. We know the solution is not dropping him though. Chelsea’s back five made 13 defensive actions against Real Madrid, but Silva accounts for 31% of those (four of 13). He was not good against Los Blancos or the Bees, but he was far from the problem. That said, the fact that the best and most reliable centerback at the club is the 37-year-old player is definitely a problem.
Antonio Rudiger (No. 2) Left centerback, Germany
Antonio Rudiger was as poor as the rest of the defense. However, more so than the rest of the defense, he’s been consistent since the beginning of the season. Rudiger’s spatial awareness has been poor in the past few games. The German lost five out of six duels against Real Madrid and only made … one defensive action. Rudiger starts again as he’s still crucial to Chelsea’s system.