Chelsea vs Southampton: predicted Blues XI, D. Fofana starts and Silva dropped in 4-2-3-1

Centre back: Kalidou Koulibaly

The veteran- Thiago Silva has been starting almost every game. And considering the UCL fixture midweek in Germany and how vulnerable the opposition is at the moment, providing Silva the rest he deserves does make sense. Also, Koulibaly who has struggled over the last few months, for a change was very impressive against the Borussia Dortmund. Giving him an extended run of games, will help his confidence and perhaps give us a glimpse of the player we signed from Napoli.

Centre Back: Benoit Badiashile

The young Frenchman will return to the squad after missing out on the Champions League fixture. He’s been pretty impressive so far. The 38 year old veteran has helped in bringing out the best of Badiashile. And this could be a good opportunity to experiment with the centre back combination and see how the former AS Monaco defender fares.

Left Back: Marc Cucurella

After apparently being kicked in the ankle against Dortmund in the second half, Ben Chilwell might not be risked against Southampton. The English International did make his comeback to the starting XI and did look very inspiring. However his setback will allow Cucurella to get back into the squad and rectify his mistakes.

Central Midfield: Ruben Loftus-cheek

Loftus-cheek was named in the Playing XI last week against West Ham over Conor Gallagher. And he did repay the trust that Potter placed in him. Loftus-cheek played with great composure and complimented Enzo Fernandez brilliantly. That performance saw the duo start together again versus Dortmund. This match could also see Mateo Kovacic and Denis Zakaria making their return from injury. The duo will expect to come on later in the second half of the game.