Southamptonvs.Chelsea

Madueke was the surprise absentee for the side that beat Aston Villa 3-0 on Sunday, having his place in the XI taken by Jadon Sancho.

Joao Felix will also hope for another opportunity from the start, but Pedro Neto's return from a brief setback means he is the most likely candidate to start out wide.

Christopher Nkunku and Mykhaylo Mudryk will also struggle to break into an XI that has been well-rested due to the rotation options available to manager Enzo Maresca for cup competitions so far.

That has allowed Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson to focus solely on the Premier League, and to great effect, with the latter moving onto eight goals this season after netting in back-to-back games.

Palmer's superb strike in the Villa win took all the headlines though, and that was his 30th Premier League goal for the club in just 46 games, with Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink the only player to reach the feat quicker for the Blues.

It was his third goal from outside the box already this season too, a tally that is higher than 13 of the Premier League's 20 clubs, and Villa became the 18th different club he has either scored or assisted against since joining the club, ahead of his first encounter against Southampton.

With two more involvements on Sunday, Palmer has now moved onto 47 goals and assists since the start of last season - more than any other player in the Premier League, including Mohamed Salah and Erling Haaland.

Enzo Fernandez has also been in brilliant form since winning his place back in Chelsea's Premier League XI, scoring in back-to-back games, assisting against Leicester City and Arsenal, and setting up three goals in 45 minutes in the thrashing of Noah in the Conference League.

On the injury front, Wesley Fofana will be out for just over a month after sustaining a hamstring injury in the win over Villa, joining Reece James on the sidelines with the same issue.

Malo Gusto's return is well timed though, and he could be in line to start here after being a substitute at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, allowing Moises Caicedo to move back into midfield ahead of former Saints player Romeo Lavia.

Chelsea possible starting lineup:

Sanchez; Gusto, Badiashile, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Enzo; Madueke, Palmer, Neto; Jackson