Chelsea vs. Southampton: Odds, Live Stream, TV Schedule and Preview

Julian Finney/Getty Images

Chelsea and Southampton meet at Stamford Bridge on Boxing Day when both teams will hope to secure back-to-back Premier League victories.

Frank Lampard‘s side defeated Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 in north London on Sunday following a run of one win in five domestic matches, and they could close distance on the top three with a win over the Saints.

Ralph Hasenhuttl has endured at the Southampton helm despite this season's early pressure and now has three wins in his last five league games, the most recent being Saturday's 3-1 triumph away to Aston Villa.

Chelsea can cement their place among the UEFA Champions League spots with a win, while Southampton are out to increase the three-point gap between them and the relegation zone. 

Date: Thursday, December 26

Time: 3 p.m. GMT/10 a.m. ET

Venue: Stamford Bridge, London

Live Stream: Amazon Prime (UK), NBC Sports Live Extra (U.S.)

TV Info: NBCSN (U.S.)

Odds

Chelsea: 17-50

Draw: 17-4

Southampton: 81-10

Via Caesars.

Preview

A derby triumph over Tottenham provided the ideal early Christmas present for Chelsea fans in Week 18, with the club hoping to capitalise as they seek to remain in touch with the Premier League's upper crust.

Third-place Manchester City still hold a six-point advantage over Lampard's side, but Willian's brace at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium ensured the competition to usurp their position remained hot:

Southampton haven't beaten the Blues since they won 3-1 at Stamford Bridge in October 2015, when Liverpool's Sadio Mane and striker Graziano Pelle—now at Chinese club Shandong Luneng—were among the scorers.

The west Londoners will be wary, however, considering the Saints managed to scrape a 0-0 draw in their last visit to Stamford Bridge in January, when Maurizio Sarri was still in charge of the Blues.

Chelsea have shown the potential to look much more adventurous under incumbent chief Lampard, though The Athletic's Simon Johnson lamented their lack of resilience in defence earlier in December:

Simon Johnson @SJohnsonSport

Chelsea are allergic to clean sheets

Their win at 10-man Tottenham was the first clean sheet Chelsea have kept since beating Crystal Palace 2-0 on November 9, not to mention their first domestic clean sheet away from home this season.

Those words will sound like music to the ears of in-form Saints hitman Danny Ings, who continued his recently prolific run in front of goal with a brace at Villa on Saturday, per NBC Sports:

NBC Sports Soccer @NBCSportsSoccer

😇⚽️🔥 7 goals in his last 7 games and only Jamie Vardy has more #PL goals than Danny Ings this season. Southampton hail their “absolutely outrageous” striker after big win at Villa | #SaintsFC https://t.co/sAcQWfzJ5d https://t.co/SZ7RXXFjrE

There are murmurs of the former Liverpool and Burnley striker gathering momentum as a possible England option ahead of UEFA Euro 2020, coming good after numerous frustrations in recent years.

Paul Gorst of the Liverpool Echo nodded to Ings' past injury troubles and celebrated his remarkable run of form:

Paul Gorst @ptgorst

Fair play to Danny Ings. He’s on 13 now for the season at Southampton. Deserves to thrive after the hard luck he had with injuries at Anfield.

Southampton should offer Chelsea's defence troubles in Week 19 provided they can keep 11 men on the field. Hasenhuttl's side boast the third-best disciplinary record in the Premier League this season with 25 cards received, though two of those have been red cards—only Spurs have received three this term. 

The Saints are hoping to score at the Bridge after failing to do so in their past three visits, though Hasenhuttl's revival on the south-coast looks like it could hit a delay in west London.

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