Chelsea have won six in a row against Southampton and Paul Higham fully expects them to make that seven in Sunday's game at St Mary's.
Southampton v Chelsea (1415 BST Sky Sports)
Chelsea look to maintain their unbeaten start to life under Maurizio Sarri as they head to St Mary’s to face a Southampton side they have enjoyed playing in recent years.
Six wins in a row and an 11-match unbeaten run at St Mary’s are pretty tasty stats in Chelsea’s favour, but, more than that, the way they’ve started the season suggests they can take all three points once again.
Added to that is the form of Mark Hughes’ men, who’ve taken just two points from home games against Burnley, Leicester and Brighton – where they lost a two-goal lead against the worst away team in the league last year.
Chelsea have taken care of poor teams like Huddersfield and Newcastle and that’s the kind of test they’ll face on Sunday – Southampton may make it difficult for them at times but there’s too much quality here to expect anything other than an away win.
Betting guide
Prediction: Southampton 0-2 Chelsea (Sky bet odds: 7/1)
A decent defence against an average attack, this one has all the hallmarks of an early Chelsea goal just killing off any kind of spirit in the Southampton side, who've just not looked like an inspired bunch so far this season.
Best bet: Chelsea win to nil at 7/4
As above, Chelsea have more than enough to keep a clean sheet here and anything other than a Chelsea win would be a big surprise. A Chelsea win and under 2.5 goals also appeals, but there's the chance the Blues could run away with it so this win-to-nil looks the stand-out bet of the game.
Scorer: Olivier Giroud anytime scorer at 11/8
The Frenchman came off the bench to change the game here last season, and he's got a superb record against the Saints with a goal in his last four games against them.
RequestABet: Chelsea win, under 2.5 goals with Giroud & Hazard to score at 40/1
Giroud loves scoring against Southampton, Hazard loves scoring against everyone recently and if he's anywhere near his game he'll be far too hot for the Saints to handle.
Southampton v Chelsea Opta stats
- Southampton have lost each of their last six matches against Chelsea in all competitions, including three last season (two in the Premier League, one in the FA Cup).
- Chelsea have lost just one of their 11 visits to St. Mary’s against Southampton (W8 D2), winning each of their last three in a row.
- Southampton have only lost more matches at St. Mary’s against Man Utd (10) than they have against Chelsea (8) in all competitions.
- The team scoring first in Premier League matches between Southampton and Chelsea have gone on to win in just four of the last 10 meetings – in the most recent game, Southampton surrendered a two-goal lead to lose 3-2.
- Southampton are winless in 25 Premier League meetings with ‘big six’ opponents (D7 L18), since beating Liverpool, Man City and Spurs in three consecutive such games in the 2015-16 season.
- Southampton have only won one of their last 13 Premier League games played on a Sunday (D7 L5), beating Everton 4-1 in November 2017.
- Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud has scored in each of his last four matches against Southampton in all competitions (five goals), with three of those games coming as a substitute.
- Chelsea’s Olivier Giroud has played 199 Premier League games, and could become the 17th French player to reach 200 in the competition.
- Southampton manager Mark Hughes has lost his last six matches against Chelsea in all competitions, including both as Saints boss.
- Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri could become the sixth manager to remain unbeaten in his first eight Premier League games, after Frank Clark (first 11), John Lyall, Peter Taylor, Jose Mourinho and Felipe Scolari (first eight).
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Odds correct as of 1425 BST on 06/10/18
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