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Football London
Football London
Sport
Oliver Harbord

Jorginho and Pulisic return, Azpilicueta not risked - predicted Chelsea line-up vs Southampton

Chelsea welcome Southampton to Stamford Bridge this afternoon, looking to improve their recent record at home in the Premier League.

The Blues have struggled recently in west London, losing to both West Ham United and Bournemouth in two of their last three league matches in front of their own supporters.

However, they will be coming off the back of an impressive 2-0 victory against Tottenham Hotspur, with Willian bagging a brace

Frank Lampard defends Antonio Rudiger from Jose Mourinho criticism

It's a busy schedule for the Blues, with Arsenal coming up on Sunday at the Emirates Stadium and that could play in the mind of Lampard's thinking.

The Blues boss confirmed in his pre-match press conference that captain Cesar Azpilicueta was struggling with a hamstring problem, that could see Reece James coming back into the side.

Meanwhile, Christian Pulisic was left out for the Spurs win, but to add to the creativity, Lampard could well bring him back into the starting XI as well.

Lampard has a big question at the back as well, playing three in defence in north London, but that could be reverted to four in defence once again.

That could mean Emerson Palmieri comes into the side to replace Marcos Alonso, who is seen more of a wing-back than full-back.

Meanwhile, four at the back means one centre-back would have to be dropped, with it likely to be Fikayo Tomori.

Mateo Kovacic will be missing from the game as he is suspended after picking up five yellow cards for the campaign so far at Spurs.

However, it is going to be a straight swap with Jorginho coming in and Ross Barkley likely to be on the bench.

Mason Mount could move into the number ten role, just behind Tammy Abraham, and will be hoping to have another decent impact for the Blues.

Predicted Chelsea team: Kepa; James, Zouma, Rudiger, Emerson; Kante, Jorginho; Willian, Mount, Pulisic; Abraham

For live coverage of Chelsea vs Southampton, click here.

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