Chelsea v Brighton and Hove Albion: Preview, Team News and Predictions
Chelsea are set to host Brighton and Hove Albion at Stamford Bridge on the 3rd of December as they look to right the ship and bag some valuable points ahead of a frantic Christmas fixture schedule.
The Blues have played in fits and starts under Mauricio Pochettino’s tutelage. Just when you think they’re implementing his ideas on to the pitch, they succumb to a defeat in short order. After blowing away their 2-0 lead against Arsenal in the space of seven minutes, they were stung by Brentford at home.
A few welcomed wins against Blackburn Rovers and Tottenham Hotspur was followed with one of the best matches of the season – a 4-4 draw against Manchester City. There was vigor and spirit shown in the game besides the goals they scored ever so seamlessly against the finest in Europe.
All of that was lost by the time they shipped four against an injury-stricken Newcastle United side at St. James’ Park, leaving them searching for momentum once again.
And they’ll be in tough against a Seagulls side that achieved the double over them last season. In fact, after a stellar run of 10 wins in 11 against the same opposition, Chelsea are now winless in their last five meetings.
Roberto De Zerbi and co. are themselves on a high, having beaten AEK Athens away from home in the Europa League. After just one point from their first two European matches, the Seagulls have been soaring, courtesy of three wins on the bounce.
Can they replicate it against an unpredictable Chelsea side, and pile more misery on Pochettino? Here’s all you need to know ahead of Sunday’s encounter.
Team News
Chelsea
Chelsea may have to field a back four full of traditional center-backs, as Reece James’ red card, and Marc Cucurella’s fifth yellow card of the season, prevents them from taking part in the contest.
Levi Colwill is most likely to get the nod over Ian Maatsen at left-back, the latter having been used as a forward player since pre-season.
Pochettino relayed a positive response to Christopher Nkunku’s progress, stating “There is still one training session more and we will see what is going on tomorrow and see if some players can be available. We need to assess Lavia and Nkunku tomorrow and then decide. They are close but we need tomorrow to take the decision. Maybe Lavia is the more difficult.”
That indicates Nkunku is much closer to a return than Romeo Lavia. Meanwhile, all of Malo Gusto, Wesley Fofana, Trevoh Chalobah, Carney Chukwuemeka and Ben Chilwell are sidelined.
Brighton and Hove Albion
Brighton have a similar injury structure to Chelsea, with two of their key players – Mahmoud Dahoud and none more than skipper Lewis Dunk – serving suspensions from red card offenses. The latter received a rather surprising send-off after laying out a few brash words to referee Anthony Taylor in their previous match.
Tariq Lamptey won’t get his chance to test himself against his former employers, while Barcelona loanee Ansu Fati is understood to have picked up a long-term injury as well. He’ll join Pervis Estupinan, Julio Enciso, Danny Welbeck, Solly March and Adam Webster in the treatment room.
Predicted XI
Chelsea (4-3-3): Sanchez; Disasi, Silva, Badiashile, Colwill; Caicedo, Fernandez, Gallagher; Palmer, Jackson, Sterling
Brighton and Hove Albion (4-2-3-1): Verbruggen; Veltman, Van Hecke, Hinshelwood, Milner; Gilmour, Gross; Adingra, Pedro, Mitoma; Ferguson
Match Prediction
While Chelsea are suddenly on the brink of collapse once again – having lost five of their first 13 PL matches for just the second time in nearly three decades – Brighton have yet to keep a clean sheet themselves.
Behind the gloss and jaw-dropping football is a defense that often overthinks things and fails to hold itself for a period of 90 minutes. Therefore, there should be goals to be had in this game. Given their shockingly uneven play at the Bridge to date, Chelsea will have to be content with a draw.
Predicted score: Chelsea 2-2 Brighton and Hove Albion
-Roy Akarshak
Twitter: @RoyAkarshak
Photo: Jake Stone