Southampton v Chelsea Tip

It was 2-2 when these sides met at Stamford Bridge in January after Chelsea blew a two-goal advantage. I think another score draw could be on the cards at St Mary’s Stadium at a best price of 15/4 with Boylesports.

That result piled the pressure on Rafa Benitez and it’s never really dissipated since then. The interim manager now has to contend with heavy fixture congestion; an FA Cup replay with Manchester United comes on Easter Monday so the Spaniard’s team selection to face Southampton is likely to be compromised and closely scrutinised.

In fairness, Chelsea had a pretty good run heading into the international break. Man Utd were pegged back from 2-0 down at Old Trafford to earn the aforementioned replay before Steaua Bucharest and West Ham were both beaten at the Bridge. On that form I would have given Chelsea the edge here if it wasn’t for the need for squad rotation.

Furthermore, the Saints are causing the big boys all sorts of problems on their own patch in 2013. Liverpool and Man City have been defeated while Arsenal and Everton could only share the spoils. Curiously, QPR were the only visitors to take all three points on the south coast since the turn of the year.

With all this in mind it’s almost tempting to take the 14/5 (Bluesquare) on Southampton claiming another major scalp on Saturday. But a draw seems most likely, while the 0-0 can surely be discounted given how often the Saints score at home and Chelsea score in general. Consequently, we find the score draw at a pretty appealing price.