Venue: Stamford Bridge Date: Wednesday 16th January K/o: 19:45 GMT
Team News
Chelsea could welcome back captain John Terry for the visit of Southampton. The defender hasn't played since last November after sustaining a knee injury against Stoke. Fellow defender Gary Cahill is available also, after missing Saturday's 4-0 win over the aforementioned side to attend the birth of his son. Strikers Demba Ba and Fernando Torres are both fit. Southampton could be without left-back Luke Shaw who has a gashed knee, Jose Fonte and Adam Lallana remain out with knee injuries, whilst forward Emmanuel Mayuka is on Africa Cup of Nations duty.
Match Preview
This Barclay's Premier League fixture comes about due to Chelsea's exploits in the Club World Cup Championships in Japan last month, a competition manager Rafael Benitez was desperately hoping for victory in to win over the Stamford Bridge faithful. Disappointment in the final however has not helped the Spaniard's cause and domestically he has been faring no better either in recent times. Two heavy wins this month over today's rivals and Stoke City have come either side of shock defeats to QPR and Swansea, the latter in the League Cup. The last time these two rivals faced each other was 5th Jan in the FA Cup, and the Blues thumped the Saints 5-1 with new signing Demba Ba scoring twice. Benitez will be hoping for a similar outcome to get his Premier League campaign back on track - a win here would put Chelsea just four points behind second placed Manchester City.
Likely Line-Ups
Chelsea Cech, Cole, Terry, Ivanovic, Azpilicueta, Mata, Hazard, Oscar, Ramires, Ba, Torres
Southampton Davis, Clyne, Yoshida, Fox, Hooiveld, Puncheon, Ramirez, Schneiderlin, Davis, Lambert, Rodriguez Source(s):
BBC