Chelsea vs Southampton: Saints hold Maurizio Sarri's side to draw at Stamford Bridge

Re-live all of the action from Stamford Bridge

Chelsea: A look back at 2018

Chelsea dropped two points in their bid for a Champions League return as Southampton saw out a stalemate at Stamford Bridge.

Eden Hazard was twice denied by Saints goalkeeper Angus Gunn and Alvaro Morata had a strike ruled out for offside as the Blues' lack of attacking precision was evident once more in the goalless draw.

Chelsea reached the turn of the year in fourth place, five points clear of Arsenal, but the Gunners' win over Fulham on New Year's Day, plus the stubbornness of relegation-threatened Saints, cut their advantage to three points. Re-live the action below

---

Preview

What time does it start?

Chelsea vs Southampton kicks off at 7:45pm (GMT)

Where can I watch it?

The match will not be shown live on TV or online in the UK.

Independent Sport will provide you with updates of the action via our live blog.

Player to watch…

Eden Hazard: The Belgian midfielder is on fire for Chelsea with four goals in his last five matches. The fans will be praying that he stays amidst uncertainty surrounding his contract. His new role as a false nine has him involved in nearly every attack and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he runs riot in the middle tonight.

Form guide…

• Chelsea: WWLWWL
• Southampton: LLWWLL

Odds…

• Chelsea to win: 27/100
• Southampton to win: 21/2
• Draw: 24/5

Prediction:

Chelsea 2-0 Southampton: Southampton got off to a good start under Hassenhuttl but the results have dipped and they’ve been poor since. Chelsea looked calm and composed against Crystal Palace on Sunday so I feel they’ll win this one relatively comfortably at home.

Key Points

• Chelsea XI: Kepa, Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Luiz, Alonso, Jorginho, Kante, Barkley, Willian, Morata, Hazard
• Southampton XI: Gunn, Cedric, Yoshida, Vestergaard, Bednarek, Valery, Romeu, Ward-Prowse, Armstrong, Ings, Redmond

[2 January 2019 21:54 · Harry Latham-Coyle]

Newcastle 0-2 Manchester United, 90 + 5 minutes

Romelu Lukaku opts to shoot with four teammates in support as Manchester United again find space on the break.

His effort is lacking in power, and Martin Dubravka brings the ball into his body comfortably on this occasion.

[2 January 2019 21:55 · Harry Latham-Coyle]

​Matching the achievement of Sir Matt Busby, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer begins his stint at Manchester United with four wins from four. A first clean sheet of the Solskjaer tenure, and goals from Romelu Lukaku (moments after coming off the bench) and Marcus Rashford giving the visitors a 2-0 win.

[2 January 2019 21:59 · Harry Latham-Coyle]

Newcastle had their chances. Christian Atsu had about five sighters at goal on his left foot, but not a single one seriously troubled David De Gea, and Rafa Benitez's side lack of quality in the final third showed. 

Newcastle stay 15th, level on points with Burnley and Cardiff below them, just two points clear of the relegation zone.

[2 January 2019 22:02 · Harry Latham-Coyle]

That's all from us here tonight. The Independent will have all the reaction and analysis you need from tonight's games, so stay with us.

A huge fixture tomorrow - the two best teams in the country meet at the Etihad Stadium. A must win game for Manchester City; a potential title-securer for Liverpool?

We'll have live coverage of Manchester City and Liverpool's seismic clash tomorrow, but for now, it is goodnight. I've been Harry Latham-Coyle - thank you for joining me.