Against All Odds: Saints to march on at St Mary's

Graziano Pell will be rubbing his hands together at the thought of taking on a weary John Terry

It's Southampton against Chelsea this afternoon and despite their odds-on quote, Paul Robinson thinks that the leaders will fail to take all three points.

Southampton v Chelsea
Sunday December 28, 14:05 GMT
Live on Sky Sports 1

The Saints are back on track following their run of five straight defeats in all competitions. A 3-0 success over Everton restored the confidence of the players and they followed that up with a 3-1 win at Crystal Palace on Boxing Day.

Ronald Koeman's side are now back in the top four of the Premier League and while I don't expect them to be there at the end of the season, they deserve their place at the moment.

A trip to St Mary's wouldn't have been what Jose Mourinho was looking for just 48 hours after a match with West Ham and only four days before they visit White Hart Lane. 

The Blues may have won their last five in all competitions but if we look at their last five away results in the Premier League, we can see that they've actually only recorded two victories.

A defeat at Newcastle doesn't make great reading and they didn't perform too well in their draws at Manchester United and Sunderland. It's also worth noting that while John Terry has earned many plaudits lately, he isn't getting any younger and it will be interesting to see with how he copes with such little recovery time.

Southampton are capable of giving anyone a game on their day and as they have home advantage, I think they can earn a result this afternoon. That's why, with Chelsea trading at around the [1.92} mark, I have to make them my lay of the day.  

Recommended Bet
Lay Chelsea v Southampton @ 1.9210/11

2014 P/L (1pt each bet)

Wagered: 346 pts
Returned: 364.31 pts
P/L: + 18.31 pts (after commission)
(2013 P/L: + 3.80 pts)
(2012 P/L: + 9.60 pts)