Enzo Maresca fires warning as he insists Chelsea's trip to Premier League's bottom club Southampton will be 'toughest game of the season'

The Blues have made a strong start under new boss Maresca in the 2024-25 campaign. They have leapfrogged defending champions Manchester City in the Premier League table and are currently joint-second with Arsenal on 25 points from 13 matches. In contrast, Southampton have won just one game out of their first 13 outings and currently find themselves at the bottom of the table with five points.

Despite the gulf in quality between Chelsea and the Saints, Maresca believes that a difficult challenge awaits them on Wednesday at St Mary's Stadium. The Italian coach, who faced Southampton last season in the Championship as Leicester's manager, spoke highly of the team's abilities and warned his players that Wednesday's away fixture could be one of the most difficult games they play in the 2024-25 campaign.

Speaking to reporters, the 44-year-old said: "This is the worst game for us since we started the season. The toughest game and we need to be ready, otherwise it will be a bad day for us. If you analyse the results, they are there [at the bottom of the table] but in terms of performance, they are very good. They were leading against Liverpool, only lost 1-0 to Manchester City and they drew in the last game against Brighton.

"I was in the Championship with Southampton last season and I know how good they are. They are very brave, they want to keep the ball and for sure this will be a very difficult game for us and we need to be ready."

After facing Southampton in the away fixture in midweek, the Blues will next take on Tottenham in a London derby on Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.