Ronald Koeman takes on Jose Mourinho this weekend well aware of how desperate his old friend will be to put Chelsea 's Champions League disappointment behind them . Southampton face the unenviable task of trying to stifle a Blues side not only chasing the Premier League crown but wounded by Wednesday 's European exit to Paris St Germain . Chelsea failed to capitalise Zlatan Ibrahimovic 's first-half sending off , with the 2-2 extra-time draw at Stamford Bridge ending their hopes of a memorable treble . Ronald Koeman says he is looking forward to facing old friend , Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho this weekend . Mourinho takes questions during his press conference at Chelsea 's Cobham training ground on Friday . Striker Diego Costa attempts an overhead kick during his side 's 2-2 draw with PSG at Stamford Bridge . Chelsea captain John Terry tussles with PSG striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic during the Champions League tie . Chelsea players surround referee Bjorn Kuipers as he prepares to send off Ibrahimovic in the first-half . It was not the first underwhelming Blues performance of late , but Koeman does not expect such displays to necessarily work in Saints ' favour this weekend . ' I do n't know when it 's a good time to face them , ' the Dutchman said . 'It 's always a difficult time . 'It 's a big team , a strong team with some great players and of course they are very disappointed after the last Wednesday result . 'If you play 60 minutes against 10 players , you do n't expect that final result and maybe a little bit more under pressure . 'They fight after the League Cup title and after that , not the most important one , they fight for the title . 'They need a win after a disappointing result but they will give a reaction you normally expect as a manager . ' Ahead of this match , Mourinho brashly declared that Chelsea would win the Premier League - the kind of comments Koeman takes with a pinch of salt . The pair worked together under Louis van Gaal at Barcelona in the late 1990s and retain a close relationship to this day . ' I know him very well , ' Koeman said . 'It 's a good friend and great coach and a very successful manager . 'It was nice in our period in Barcelona and it 's always nice to meet Jose and we look forward . 'When I was with Jose the assistant of Van Gaal in Barcelona in '98 and '99 , it was a long time ago and it 's not always easy to know what will happen in the future . 'At that time he was very ambitious as a coach and he had good coaches to see what he needs to be a successful coach . ' Mourinho ( second from left ) and Koeman ( far right ) worked together at Barcelona during the 1990s . Current Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal ( far left ) was manager of Barca during this time . Saints right-back Nathaniel Clyne skips over the challenge of Crystal Palace forward Dwight Gayle . Crystal Palace striker Yaya Sanogo is challenged by Saints defender Ryan Bertrand at St Mary 's . Man management is key to Mourinho 's success , so too that Koeman is enjoying this season . Saints have tailed off slightly recently but returned to winning ways against Crystal Palace last time out , before making the most of a 10-day break by jetting off on a mid-season jaunt . Koeman took this side on a bonding trip to snowy Switzerland , foregoing sun loungers and training for Nordic skiing and ice hockey . ' I saw some players skating and I do n't think it was good for their confidence , ' Koeman said , smiling . 'It was something totally different and we choose Davos because of the relationship between Southampton and Switzerland - Katharina ( Liebherr ) the owner and the chairman is there . 'It was totally different to lying on the beach on Dubai . If they like to go to Dubai , they can go in the summer . 'We did some activities which was great , some players were skeptical before going but everybody was happy with what we did . 'It was a good week but playing football is totally different . 'Always you know if you stay together the whole day and do some different activities there is more time to talk . 'Players had free time and you see characters of players , difficulties , but they did a great job because they achieve everything what we did and it was a great atmosphere over there . ' Koeman recently took his Southampton players on a skiing trip to bond in Switzerland . Southampton 's Italian striker striker Graziano Pelle takes a tumble while skiing in Switzerland . Jose Fonte said the trip had brought the squad together and taken some of the stress of the season away . Southampton 's players during their recent trip to the Swiss Alps over the FA Cup weekend .
Southampton travel to Stamford Bridge this season in the premier League . Ronald Koeman teamed up against old friend , Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho . The pair worked together at Chelsea during the late 1990s . Chelsea are looking to bounce back from their relegation playoff spot .