Sports Mole previews Chelsea's Premier League visit to Southampton as Jose Mourinho's side look to continue their impressive festive form at St Mary's Stadium.

Premier League leaders Chelsea travel to Southampton on Sunday having already negotiated two festive banana skins.

The Blues continued their strong response to the end of their 24-match unbeaten run by prevailing 2-0 from a physical contest with Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium on Monday.

Victory over London rivals West Ham United by the same scoreline at Stamford Bridge was their fifth straight win in all competitions and maintained their 100% home record this season.

It also kept them three points clear of a resurgent Manchester City at the top of the table at the end of the Boxing Day fixtures - a position from which teams have won the title in eight out of the last 10 campaigns.

Southampton themselves come into this match on the back of successive victories and in the top four, but they have been found out when they have come up against other European contenders previously this term.

They seem to have stopped the rot of five successive defeats and, with the visit of Chelsea followed by a clash with Arsenal on New Year's Day, they now have a chance to restore their Champions League credibility.

Key players are returning from injury to help their cause, with Morgan Schneiderlin, Victor Wanyama and Dusan Tadic all in the squad which beat Crystal Palace 3-1 at Selhurst Park only 24 hours ago.

Captain Jose Fonte is also back from suspension to strengthen their defence, but Ryan Bertrand is ineligible as part of the loan agreement which took him from the Blues to St Mary's Stadium in the summer.

Teenager Matt Targett is Ronald Koeman's only like-for-like replacement if he wants to maintain the 5-3-2 system that he has recently switched to, but the Dutchman has shown little fear of throwing Southampton's highly-rated youngsters into the deep end since arriving in England.

This formation means that Tadic may have to be content with a place on the bench, with Sadio Mane playing through the middle alongside Graziano Pelle, as he did so effectively in the victory over the Eagles.

Jose Mourinho has been reluctant to rotate his settled side unless necessary, but may feel that some fresh legs in midfield are required to manage two tricky away trips - with Tottenham Hotspur next up for Chelsea.

John Obi Mikel is almost certain to be recalled to give the visiting defence greater protection, with Cesc Fabregas moving forward. There could also be a start for Ramires at the expense of Brazilian compatriot Willian.

Despite the hamstring problems that hampered his early-season availability, Diego Costa is expected to start his third game in the space of a week, although Loic Remy and Didier Drogba are champing at the bit.

Southampton have only won one of their last 11 matches against Chelsea, who have kept clean sheets in six of their previous seven Premier League games, largely thanks to their evergreen skipper John Terry.

Southampton:

Form in Premier League: LLLLWW
Form in all competitions: LLLLWW

Possible starting lineup: Forster; Clyne, Fonte, Alderweireld, Yoshida, Targett; Schneiderlin, Wanyama, Davis; Mane, Pelle

Chelsea:

Form in Premier League: DWLWWW
Form in all competitions: LWWWWW

Possible starting lineup: Courtois; Ivanovic, Terry, Cahill, Azpilicueta; Matic, Mikel; Hazard, Fabregas, Ramires; Costa

Sports Mole says: 0-1