Chelsea and Southampton will tangle for the second weekend in a row, and this time the stakes are very different. Saints are running out of time and chances to secure Premier League safety, while Chelsea are close to seeing the sun set on their top four finish hopes. Both however, can still acquire a trophy this season, if they win here and then beat the Manchester United-Tottenham Hotspur winner in the final.
Let’s look at the availability situation for both sides.
The Blues are also still without the injured trio of David Luiz, Ethan Ampadu and Danny Drinkwater. On the flip side, Southampton defender Jack Stephens is suspended following his red card against Arsenal, while Mario Lemina is injured. Sofiane Boufal faces a late fitness test, as he’s a doubt due to illness.
Starting XI Predictions for both teams: go to this link
Odds: Chelsea 8/15 Southampton 13/2 Draw 15/4
FA Cup Outright Winner Odds: Chelsea 7/4 Tottenham 2/1 United 11/4 Southampton 20/1
Prediction: Chelsea 2, Southampton 1
As always, feel free to post to your own Tottenham and/or United starting XI predictions, as well as your score predictions, in the comments section below.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and the Tribune company’s blogging community Chicago Now.
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