Southampton boss Ivan Juric has made an interesting claim about Chelsea as he previews his side’s upcoming match against them.
Chelsea travel to St Mary’s on Tuesday night to play Southampton in a Premier League fixture.
The Blues need a response after Saturday’s 2-1 league defeat away to Aston Villa. On paper, they couldn’t have picked a better game than against 20th-placed Southampton, who look destined for relegation back to the Championship.
The Chelsea predicted XI against Southampton does include three changes from the team that were recently beaten at Villa Park.
Southampton manager Ivan Juric still impressed by out-of-form Chelsea
Even though Chelsea’s results in 2025 have been very suspect, Southampton manager Ivan Juric does believe they’re a superb outfit, suggesting a “huge difference” between their quality and results.
When asked about Chelsea, Juric said via Southampton’s official YouTube channel: “They lose the game, but there is a huge difference. Incredible team, incredible players. It’s a really great team. They have two bad, results but they’re great.”
A run of two victories in the last 10 league games explains why the Blues have dropped down to seventh in the division table, but Chelsea can take positives from the Villa defeat. As seen above, they’ve still got the respect of opposition teams as well.
The Blues will need to find a different solution in defence because Trevoh Chalobah will miss up to 10 days after suffering an injury versus Villa. Hopefully, it’s the team’s attack that takes centre stage against Southampton rather than the backline.
Following back-to-back losses in the Premier League, it’s vital that Chelsea get back on track quickly.
Enzo Maresca’s side plays two of last season’s promoted sides in their next two league games, hosting Southampton and Leicester City. The first leg of their Conference League knockout tie against Copenhagen is squeezed in between the league schedule, too.
Here is a look at how the Blues fared earlier in the campaign against the promoted teams.
| Date | Result |
| 23 November | Leicester City 1-2 Chelsea |
| 4 December | Southampton 1-5 Chelsea |
| 30 December | Ipswich Town 2-0 Chelsea |
It certainly feels like a lot of pressure is building around Stamford Bridge going into the next couple of league matches.
Paul Merson has sent a warning to Maresca that his side must beat both Southampton and Leicester, or else he could lose his job in the manager’s dugout.
