Southampton v Chelsea: five key battles

Chelsea have only lost one of their nine previous visits to Southampton. Here are five potential match-ups we think could be crucial as they make another trip to St. Mary’s on Sunday.

David Luiz v Charlie Austin

This will be the first time Luiz has come up against former QPR striker Austin, who was playing in the Championship during the Brazilian’s first spell at Chelsea. Austin has seven goals in 11 games so far this season and did score for Rangers at Stamford Bridge in November 2014. Luiz will have a battle on his hands to prevent a repeat.

Pedro or Willian v Ryan Bertrand or Sam McQueen

Willian completed his first 90 minutes of the season on Wednesday night but Pedro could return following his goal against Manchester United last weekend. Former Blues left-back Bertrand could return from a hamstring injury, but if he is not quite ready, 21-year-old McQueen, who has played at the San Siro and the City of Manchester Stadium in the last 10 days, will again deputise.

Diego Costa v Virgil Van Dijk

Costa’s tussle with the opposing centre-halves are always worth watching, and this season he has come out on top in most of them. Van Dijk, though, will stick to him every step of the way – only five other players in the Premier League have made more clearances than the busy Dutchman this season.

Nemanja Matic v Oriol Romeu

Bertrand may not be the only Saints man lining up against his former club. Romeu has already made more appearances for Southampton than he did at Stamford Bridge and his spell at Chelsea coincided with Matic’s time at Benfica, so they never played together, but might clash on Sunday.

Marcos Alonso v Dusan Tadic

Alonso’s arrival late in the summer transfer window was clearly with the 3-4-3 formation in mind and he has been one of the major beneficiaries of the tactical tweak. He will be tested defensively against Tadic, who according to the number crunchers is only behind Willian and Dimitri Payet for his influence in the final third.