After the bier and bratwurst of Westphalia comes what was once the bread and butter of the English game: a 3pm Saturday kick-off - at home to Southampton. Chelsea’s most recent taste of the time-slot was October’s setback at Brighton.

However at Stamford Bridge the Blues have won seven of the past 11 fixtures with that old-school start time, drawing three, and netting two or more in nine of them. A win would lift the Londoners above Liverpool, who are at Newcastle later the same day.

Manager-less Southampton will hope that any sinking feeling is just a flashback to the Titanic setting sail from their port, as they fight to climb the table. The basement club have lost 10 of their last 13 away games in the Premier League and five in a row in London.

Despite Raheem Sterling opening the scoring in August, The Saints did win the reverse fixture 2-1 (Thomas Tuchel’s final league defeat), but they are now under their third manager of the campaign, first team coach Ruben Selles temporarily stepping in for Nathan Jones, who was sacked after Saturday’s home loss to 10-man Wolves.

• What is Chelsea's head to head record versus Southampton?

• Where to watch the game

• Watch Graham Potter on the Champions League hopes

Chelsea, unfortunately beaten in Dortmund on Wednesday, must park thoughts of a Champions League Round of 16 second leg comeback for two-and-a-half weeks and make up lost ground in the three upcoming Premier League games, two of them at home. The Blues have beaten every visiting team from the bottom half of the league this season.

Chelsea team news

Though the 1-0 loss in Dortmund means Chelsea have scored three goals in our eight games across all competitions, there were plenty of positives. The 21 attempts on Borussia’s goal including seven on target and one or two very near misses, encouraged the feeling an opponent is going to cop it against the Blues soon.

The first start together since October for fit-again full-backs Ben Chilwell and Reece James was reassuringly productive, with fine link play involving Hakim Ziyech, Mykhailo Mudryk and Joao Felix.

The on-loan Portuguese, who opened his Chelsea account at West Ham last weekend, was especially involved, delivering nine of the Blues’ 31 crosses, most of our corners, and going close to scoring on two occasions.

The central midfield pairing of Enzo Fernandez and Ruben Loftus-Cheek also dovetailed well and drove plays forward for a second game running, while Kalidou Koulibaly ensured Benoit Badiashile was not missed at the heart of defence.

Nevertheless, Badiashile as well as David Fofana and Noni Madueke, who all have to sit out our European midweeks, are recall options this weekend. The same applies for fit-again Wesley Fofana, Mateo Kovacic and Denis Zakaria, on the bench in midweek, especially as some players will need their minutes managed.

Armando Broja, N’Golo Kante, Edou Mendy and Christian Pulisic may miss out again but Raheem Sterling could be set for a return against a team he has previously scored eight goals past and assisted four more.

The Blues are yet to concede in the opening hour of any home league fixture. Three of our opponents’ seven goals at the Bridge have been scored in the 63rd minute and two more before the 69th, making that far and away our most vulnerable 10-minute segment.

Scouting the opposition – Southampton

It seems likely the Saints’ first team lead coach Ruben Selles will still be in charge at Stamford Bridge of the team he has trained all week. The well-travelled 39-year-old Spaniard joined Ralph Hasenhuttl’s backroom team in summer 2022 and retained his place under now-departed Nathan Jones.

This will be his second game as caretaker head coach having stewarded Southampton to a penalty shoot-out success in the Carabao Cup against Sheffield Wednesday in November. On that evidence he shares some of Hasenhuttl’s approach: aggressive attitude, high defensive line, heavy pressing to win the ball, 4-2-3-1 formation.

Jones, previously successful at Luton, preferred a simpler, direct approach. However, Southampton have now lost nine of their last 10 league games, the joint-worst run in their history, matching May-September 1993. Jones’ spell ended after his side squandered a 1-0 home lead to lose 2-1 against Wolverhampton, who were without the dismissed Mario Lemina for over an hour.

Selles takes on a squad with problems at both ends, conceding the second-most goals among top-flight clubs this season while recording the second-worst goals-to-shots ratio (9.6 per cent).

The Saints have brought in 14 fresh faces this season though only defender Ainsley Maitland-Niles offered prior experience of England’s top flight. That said, January signing Kamaldeen Sulemana provided the main regular threat against Wolves on his first start, and may retain his place upfront.

The caretaker may also select midfielder Carlos Alcaraz, who netted the opener on his first start last weekend, and rarely-used winter arrival Mislav Orsic, who delivered Dinamo Zagreb’s winner against Chelsea back in September.

Southampton have gone behind in 17 of their 22 matches and lost eight of their 11 league games on the road. However, they have also outscored host clubs by three goals to one over the opening 15 minutes of matches.

Juan Larios, Alex McCarthy and Cobham graduate Tino Livramento are absentees for the visitors, while Stuart Armstrong and Kyle Walker-Peters remain doubts.

Chelsea-Southampton – the history

Chelsea have hosted Southampton 48 times in the league, winning 22, drawing 14 and losing 12 games. In the Premier League era the Bridge has witnessed some high-scoring affairs, including three 4-2 scorelines.

Two of those were in the Blues’ favour, with Ruud Gullit’s team racing into a 4-1 lead barely half an hour in on 30 August 1997, before Ken Monkou scored on his homecoming. In April 2017 it was the Eden Hazard and Diego Costa show, the latter scoring twice and setting up the Belgian for the opener. Skipper Gary Cahill also found the net.

Our most emphatic ever home victory over Saints is 4-0, first achieved in 1973/74 with the help of a Steve Kember brace, then matched 30 years ago in May 2004 when all the goals arrived in a devastating spell between the 59th and 85th minute.

The Blues have scored in 23 of our past 25 league encounters with the Hampshire club, averaging 2.2 goals per game. Southampton have lost each of their past five Premier League away games in London, conceding 13 goals and only scoring twice in return. Their last such victory came in February 2022 against Spurs (3-2).

Foodbank collection

As usual the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust will be taking donations of non-perishable food, drinks and toiletries to support the work of the Hammersmith and Fulham Foodbank before Saturday’s match. The drop-off point is at the gates of our next-door neighbours, Oswald Stoll Foundation, on the Fulham Road.

Taking the knee

All Premier League teams will take the knee this weekend in support of the No Room For Racism campaign, which over the past two years has helped deliver progress in embedding equality and increasing diversity on and off the pitch.

The groundbreaking strategy includes multiple initiatives from stand to boardroom, and since its inception representation from ethnically diverse backgrounds in the Premier League’s own workforce has risen from 12 to 16 per cent, with 30 per cent the target by 2031.

• By club historian Rick Glanvill and club statistician Paul Dutton