Chelsea v Southampton Betting Tips [18 February 2023]

Chelsea will return from a loss in the UEFA Champions League seeking to stabilize their Premier League run when they host Southampton in their next outing. Going into this game, the two sides are 16 points apart, with Chelsea 10th on 31 points and Southampton bottom on 15 points. The Blues are coming from Germany, where they lost 1-0 to Borussia Dortmund, pushing their winless run to four matches in all competitions. They have now failed to score in three of their last four matches and in that run they have just one goal. Chelsea have however registered three clean sheets in their last five matches, all of which have resulted in under 2.5 goals. With three wins only in the last 13 matches, Chelsea will be desperate for one here, and facing the weakest team in the league at the moment is quite welcome. Graham Potter’s side is 10 points below the Champions League places and really needs three points from this game.

Southampton have the ability to pull a shock and they’ve shown it already this season, with wins over Chelsea and Manchester City, as well as a draw with Arsenal, all in various competitions. They will be targeting a double against Chelsea here, after a 2-1 win in the first meeting. The saints will however need to put up a big performance, as they are coming from their third straight defeat in the 2-1 home loss to Wolverhampton Wanderers. In their last six matches, Southampton have won just once and they’ve scored more than a goal in only one of the last six games. Away from home this season, Southampton have played 11 league games. They have lost eight of those, the most recent being a 3-0 thumping at the hands of Brentford. In the last five meetings with Chelsea, Southampton have scored more than a goal in just one game – their 2-1 win in the first leg.

Chelsea have the best chance to ease the pressure on Graham Potter when they take on the league’s bottom placed side. Southampton will however not be pushovers as they also need three points. As both sides are struggling on the attacking front, we expect a low scoring clash but Chelsea go inro the game as favorites. For the Chelsea v Southampton clash therefore, our prediction is Chelsea to win and under 2.5 goals.