Thomas Tuchel is expecting a "physical game" on the south coast tomorrow evening against a strong Southampton side. The German believes his side must be "well prepared" to have any chance of repeating last season's 6-0 win.
Both sides have had mixed results so far this season. Chelsea will be looking to continue a winning streak after scraping past Leicester last Saturday. In contrast, Southampton are aiming to bounce back from a frustrating 1-0 loss to Manchester United.
With the games now coming thick and fast, both sides will be looking to build momentum going into September.
The Blues have won their last three matches against the Saints, therefore it is highly expected the West London side will dominate.
Expectations on Tuesday
Despite losing against Manchester United, Thomas Tuchel believes Southampton performed strongly and will be a threat to his side tomorrow.
The Saints are yet to win at home this season, but placed the Red Devils under sustained pressure throughout periods of the match.
Thomas Tuchel said: "I had the chance to watch the game of Southampton [against Manchester United] live and saw a very strong side. They had a huge turnaround at Leicester to win the game, and you could see they gained a lot of confidence from it."
"They conceded, but they had a lot of touches in the box, a lot of shots against Manchester United and were very mobile upfront. What you can always expect in Southampton is a physical game, a running game, a high-intensity game. This is what it is. We need to recover well and be well prepared to repeat what we did last season."
Strengthening the squad
The transfer window closes at 11 pm BST on Thursday. So far, Chelsea have signed three key players. Marc Cucurella and Kalidou Koulibaly have had mixed starts to their Chelsea careers, whilst Raheem Sterling has consistently been the biggest threat among the West Londoners attack.
Wesley Fofana is expected to join this week, however Thomas Tuchel still wants one more to be able to compete at the highest level.
He said: "Right now, I think we could need some more players in some positions, but it's very close to the end of the transfer window, and when 1September comes, I will be a happy coach no matter what happens."
"I will try to find solutions and not think about what might have happened or what could be."
Difficult decisions in defence
On Saturday, Cesar Azpilicueta came on at half-time and made an instant impact. He made six clearances and two interceptions in an impressive display (Fotmob).
This has given the former Borussia Dortmund manager a headache, but a good one to have. The Spaniard and Reece James are both fighting to start, however Tuchel hopes to use both throughout the season.
He said: "At the moment, it is one of the toughest decisions because he [Cesar] trains so well and is in such good shape and status mentally. He is pushing everybody and is fully committed – it's what you want on the field."
"But if we play 4-4-2, it's between him or Reece James. It's a luxury problem we have, but when we changed to a back five [against Leicester], we had the chance to have both of them on the pitch."
"Without tough decisions, we will get nowhere. We are used to competing for every title at Chelsea, competing at the highest level. If we don't have tough decisions, it will simply not happen."
Back on the touchline
Against Tottenham Hotspur, Thomas Tuchel was handed a one-match touchline ban for misconduct. This meant that he was in the stands for their clash against Leicester.
Although they still won without the German present, the manager believes it will be nice to be back on the touchline.
He said: "It's better. But listen, I played many times against Antonio Conte, and normally we have zero issues with each other, so things can happen in a football match.
"I have a lot of respect for Ralph [Hassenhuttl], and we have played against each other a lot of times, and he is a very nice person and a very good coach, and his fingerprints are all over this Southampton team every year.
"He will be very friendly before the match, but during the match, he will not only be friendly with us. Don't make the mistake; he is a competitor as we are. We will fight it out but always with fair play. It will be better to be on the sideline than in the stands."
Chelsea face Southampton at St Mary's Stadium on Tuesday evening at 7:45 PM BST. The match can be watched on BT Sport 2. An exciting encounter is expected as the two sides look to build momentum at the start of the season.