Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has claimed that Southampton will provide his side with their "toughest game" of the season on Wednesday night.
The Blues head into the fixture at St Mary's sitting in third position in the Premier League table, helped by the recent 3-0 victory over Aston Villa.
Despite having only lost to Manchester City and Liverpool in 13 top-flight fixtures, Maresca has maintained that Chelsea are not an active contender in the title race.
On the South coast, Maresca will be hoping that his players can stay within nine points of leaders Liverpool, who make the trip to Newcastle United on the same night.
However, at a press conference on Tuesday morning, the Italian insisted that bottom-placed Southampton represents Chelsea's "worst game" since the beginning of the campaign.
Adam Armstrong celebrates scoring for Southampton on November 2, 2024© Imago
Maresca heaps praise on Southampton
Despite the Saints sitting four points adrift of safety, Maresca was quick to praise their efforts under Russell Martin having pushed Liverpool and Man City all the way in previous games.
Maresca is also familiar with Southampton from last season's Championship title battle when he was Leicester boss, the Foxes prevailing 4-1 and 5-0 during their head-to-head fixtures.
Speaking to reporters, Maresca said: "It's the worst game since we start the season, and will be the toughest game since we start the season. We need to be ready or it will be a bad day for us.
"The reason why is if you analyse the results, probably they are there, but in terms of performance, they were winning against Liverpool, they lost against City 1-0, they drew the last game against Brighton.
"The way they play since last year, I know them quite well. They are very brave and it is very clear what they want. They want to keep the ball, we want the same.
"For sure, it will be a tough, tough game. We need to be ready."
Chelsea's Nicolas Jackson and Enzo Fernandez celebrate on November 23, 2024© Imago
Comparing the home and away records
Chelsea travel to St Mary's having won four of their six away fixtures in the Premier League this season, scoring 14 goals in the process.
Meanwhile, Southampton's only triumph across the same amount of matches is a 1-0 victory against Everton.
On a positive note for Martin's team, each of their six goals on familiar territory have come during their most recent four outings. Chelsea have also kept just two clean sheets in their six away encounters.
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