Chelsea v Southampton: Fofana starts, James among players rested

Chelsea boss Graham Potter has handed forward David Fofana his first start for the game against Southampton at Stamford Bridge.

Fofana leads the attack, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang again overlooked.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Potter said the fixture schedule meant he decided to rotate the squad and rest some players.

“David has been training well. He’s a young forward who we think can add something for us in the box,” Potter said.

Reece James has been left out along with Thiago Silva, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Hakim Ziyech, but Potter confirmed that was not because of any injury concerns.

He explained: “No, we don’t have any injuries. We’re just using this as a chance to rest a few players who have a little bit of fatigue.”

Chelsea: Kepa, Azpilicueta, Koulibaly, Badiashile, Chilwell, Fernandez, Kovacic, Mount, Madueke, Joao Felix, D Fofana.
Subs: Bettinelli, Chalobah, Mudryk, Sterling, Zakaria, Gallagher, Havertz, W Fofana, Hall.

Southampton: Bazunu, Maitland-Niles, Perraud, Bella-Kotchap, Bednarek, Lavia, Ward-Prowse, Elyounoussi, S Armstrong, Sulemana, Onuachu.
Subs: Caballero, Walker-Peters, Lyanco, A Armstrong, Mara, Djenepo, Alacaraz, Diallo, Walcott.