Chelsea have had a predictably bad season despite winning the Premier League last season. Axing Diego Costa and bringing in an inexperienced and goal-shy Alvaro Morata was always going to see them struggle for the cutting edge they need in attack for a successful season. They are currently outside the top four and their\u00a0hopes of making it back there is fading by the week.<\/p>\n
Antonio Conte would most likely not remain as Blues manager beyond this season, however, he would want to end the season on a high by winning the FA Cup and this semifinal offers him the chance to show that he can do just that.<\/p>\n
Chelsea defeated an in-form Burnley 2-1 in midweek and that followed a 3-2 come back win over Southampton in their previous game, they should head into this game with high confidence to send them to the finals.<\/p>\n
Southampton collected a point from their last league game against Leicester City on Thursday.<\/p>\n
While that win helps them end a three-game losing streak, they are still 4 points short of surviving the drop, which should be a priority for them at this stage of the season.<\/p>\n
The Saints usually\u00a0a solid team at the back, but the reverse has been the case this season as they have conceded at almost every attack they face.<\/p>\n
Infact, they have conceded at least 3 goals in 4 of their last 6 games and that could be the case here again.<\/p>\n
Chelsea are also struggling to shut teams out as they have now failed to keep a clean sheet in their last ten games.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Chelsea have had a predictably bad season despite winning the Premier League last season. Axing Diego Costa and bringing in an inexperienced and goal-shy Alvaro Morata was always going to see them struggle for the cutting edge they need in attack for a successful season. They are currently outside the top four and their\u00a0hopes of making it back there is fading by the week. Antonio Conte would most likely not remain as Blues manager beyond this season, however, he would want to end the season on a high by winning the FA Cup and this semifinal offers him the chance to show that he can do just that. Chelsea defeated an in-form Burnley 2-1 in midweek and that followed a 3-2 come back win over Southampton in their previous game, they should head into this game with high confidence to send them to the finals. Southampton collected a point from their last league game against Leicester City on Thursday. While that win helps them end a three-game losing streak, they are still 4 points short of surviving the drop, which should be a priority for them at this stage of the season. The Saints usually\u00a0a solid team at the back, but the reverse has been the case this season as they have conceded at almost every attack they face. Infact, they have conceded at least 3 goals in 4 of their last 6 games and that could be the case here again. Chelsea are also struggling to shut teams out as they have now failed to keep a clean sheet in their last ten games.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3609,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,123,157],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3608","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-football","category-football-prediction","category-match-preview"],"yoast_head":"\n