In a matchday in which Chelsea can go eight points clear of Manchester City in the league table, there is no doubt that Jose Mourinho would defend his side after a devastating match against PSG. Ironically, Chelsea knocked out PSG by the same aggregate (3-3) last season, that saw them advance until eventually losing to Atletico Madrid in the semifinals.
Jose Mourinho is confident in his squad who have remainded top of the league since the beginning of the campaign:
"The people who went out last Wednesday are the same who've been top of the league since day one," he said. "They are the same people who won the Capital One Cup and the same people who are going to win the Premier League."
Southampton have not enjoyed a recent drop in form, leaving them out of the top four in seventh place. On the other hand, Chelsea are the only club to concede first against the Saints and still not drop all three points due to Eden Hazard heroics.
Ronald Koeman has also commented on his clubs recent drop in form:
"They have the best players, the most money," he said. "They have all players of international quality in their squads.
"It's normal that they are one of the first five or six in the Premier League. It's always a bit jealous for the rest of the teams. Everton did it one time, Swansea went close to that and now we are close, but it's not easy to reach finally that high position between the big ones.
"We know that, but we try and we can't do any more."
The first team may see the likes of Kurt Zouma, Juan Cuadrado, Filipe Luis, and Loic Remy get playing time after a stretch of matches where the squad had not changed.
Match Officials:
Referee: Mike Dean Assistants: J Brooks, S Long Fourth Official: A Taylor
Recent Form:
Chelsea: WDWWDW
Southampton: LWDLLW
Squad Predictions:
Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Terry, Zouma, Filipe Luis, Fabregas, Matic, Willian, Oscar, Hazard, Costa.
Southampton: Forster, Clyne, Fonte, Alderweireld, Bertrand, Wanyama, Schneiderlin, Tadic, Djuricic, Mane, Pelle.