Chelsea, the defending champions, were one of the huge favourites -- before the opening weekend -- to retain the EPL title, but equations have changed with their performances so far being a major disappointment as they lie on 14th place in the standings.
Nobody, even in the wildest of their dreams, would have imagined such a disastrous start to the Blues' campaign as it was with more or less the same squad, Mourinho won the title last season with games to spare.
With two wins from seven games, Chelsea are gearing up to face Southampton, who lie on 10th place, at Stamford Bridge. However, Chelsea should draw inspiration from their last two matches in the league against Arsenal and Newcastle United, where they managed to pick up four points.
Jose Mourinho, who has enjoyed success with each and every club in the world including Chelsea, believes it is the worst period in his career with so many losses so early in the season. Chelsea also lost against Porto in their last champions league clash a few days ago.
"I define it as the worst period in my career with the worst results in my career," The Guardian quoted Mourinho as saying.
"I get it as a fantastic experience – an experience that I don't want to repeat. I want to finish it tomorrow and win some matches again. I think it comes too late [in my career]. To come after 15 years is too late but it's something that is helping me to be better. A great negative experience. It's the worst period, the worst results. I've never lost so many matches. That's a fact."
Chelsea, despite playing at home, are not going to find it easy as Southampton will come into the match with the thought of defeating Chelsea, which was not possible last season as the Blues had more or less made their home fixtures a routine execrise of earning three points.
The Saints are going to be further encouraged by their recent performances. Southampton defeated MK Dons (League Cup) and Swansea City (EPL) convincingly.
Though on paper, Chelsea might resemble a stronger squad with Eden Hazard, Cesc Fabregas, Willian amongst others, they have failed to gel as a unit. Chelsea fans have been waiting to see a smooth performance from their team, but they have only been left disappointed. Southampton players, comparatively, have been doing well especially Graziano Pelle and Sadio Mane.
Former Chelsea player, Oriol Romeu, who currently plays for Southampton, is happy to be a part of the Saints and believes they played well against Swansea, but they can still improve.
"We played very well last weekend, but we still can improve and there are a lot of things that we can change to be better. What Ronald Koeman said last week was that we played very well, but we can do it better and we have to go for it because that's what we're aiming to do in every game," Romeu told BBC Radio.
Where to watch live
Chelsea vs Southampton EPL clash is scheduled for 5:30pm local time (10pm IST, 12:30pm ET) start. Indian TV viewers can watch the mega clash on Star Sports 4/HD with live streaming option on Starsports.com.
UK viewers can watch the Chelsea vs Southampton live on Sky Sports 1/HD with live streaming option on Sky Go.
Viewers in the US can watch Chelsea vs Southampton live on NBC Sports, while the game can also be live streamed on NBC Live Extra.
