Intro and Team News
IBO Reporter - channonite
|Well, it's a testing life being a Saints fan, but after the misery of the loss to Wolves at St.Mary's, it was back on the road for the away game at Chelsea, the first of two matches at Stamford Bridge this month, the second being the League Cup match.
So, would the Saints show the spirit and tenacity they showed in the matches against both Manchester's United and City, or the strange lethargy of the Wolves game?
Ralph made a couple changes, as Walcott and Tella returned after extended periods out of the side.
Walcott was back after more than a month out injured, while Tella was strangely only just making his first Premier League start of the season. He has not featured in the league at all since coming on as an 80th minute substitute against Everton at Goodison Park on the very first day.
Stuart Armstrong, who has not played, or even trained all season, was deemed fit enough for the bench, but Armando Broja, on loan from Chelsea was ineligible to play against his parent club.
Diallo is blossoming into a really good midfielder. He will need ot be over the next three matches that Ward-Prowse is missing
Chelsea
- 16 Mendy
- 14 Chalobah
- 6 Thiago Silva - Booked 55'
- 2 Rüdiger
- 28 Azpilicueta
- 12 Loftus-Cheek (Barkley 83')
- 8 Kovacic (Jorginho 73')
- 21 Chilwell
- 11 Werner
- 20 Hudson-Odoi (Mount 65')
- 9 Lukaku
Substitutes
- 1 Arrizabalaga
- 3 Alonso
- 4 Christensen
- 5 Jorginho
- 17 Saúl
- 18 Barkley
- 19 Mount
- 22 Ziyech
- 29 Havertz
Southampton
- 1 McCarthy
- 21 Livramento
- 35 Bednarek
- 22 Salisu - Booked 90'
- 2 Walker-Peters
- 32 Walcott (Diallo 45')
- 8 Ward-Prowse - Dismissed 77'
- 6 Romeu - Booked 34'
- 23 Tella (Djenepo 73' - Booked 90')
- 9 Armstrong
- 11 Redmond (Elyounoussi 87')
Substitutes
- 4 Silveira Neves Vojnovic
- 7 Long
- 10 Adams
- 15 Perraud
- 17 Armstrong
- 19 Djenepo
- 24 Elyounoussi
- 27 Diallo
- 44 Forster
