England Premier League
Tuesday 18th January 2022
Kick off at 8pm GMT
Venue: Amex Stadium
Match Preview:
Brighton will take on Chelsea at home as part of the rearranged fixture from a few weeks back and the home side will be trying to make it 5 games unbeaten in a row.
Graham Potter’s team have been a ‘bright’ spot in the Premier League this season and even though they haven’t wowed everyone week in and week out they are a club who certainly have a steel about them and know how to accumulate the points. They are in 9th place and are five points shy of their objective which would be a European finish this season. At the weekend they drew 1-1 with Crystal Palace and if one criticism could be pointed at the club it would be that they are not winning 2-3 games in a row which could make all the difference.
The good news for Brighton is that it has been over a month since the club lost a game and at home it is only 1 defeat in their past five. Though they have struggled to win at home with only a 30% win rate and the majority of their results have finished in draws.
Chelsea surely waved goodbye to the league title at the weekend as they were beaten 1-0 by league leaders Manchester City. The Blues put a shift in but City were solid and never gave up the battle. The defeat means that Thomas Tuchel’s side are a cool 13 points behind City and they have played the same games.
As a result of only their 3rd defeat of the season Chelsea have dropped to 3rd behind Liverpool. In truth one wonders if some pressure will be pointed towards Tuchel given Chelsea’s recent form? The Blues have won just 14 points from their last 10 games- placing them in 8th position on form and just 1 win in their past five. At this level that is simply poor from a club who boast the quality of players that they have.
Chelsea’s last victory came on Boxing Day against Aston Villa so it has been 3 games without a win and now there might be question marks even if Tuchel’s side will finish 3rd this season. True they have a six point gap to 4th place but Tottenham have 4 games in hand over them, Arsenal have two and Manchester United also have two and it could be a close finish.
Team News:
Brighton: Yves Bissouma is on international duty. Lewis Dunk is being tipped to return for this game after his injury lay off due to his knee but remains 50/50. Enock Mwepu and Jeremy Sarmiento are out long term with their respective hamstring injuries.
Chelsea: Andreas Christensen will be assessed because of illness, Trevoh Chalobah has a hamstring injury and is out. Reece James is a major doubt with his hamstring. Edouard Mendy is on international duty.
Brighton vs Chelsea Head to Head:
Last season Chelsea won this game 3-1.
3 of the last four meetings has seen both teams to score.
Brighton have never beaten Chelsea in a league game and incredibly their last victory over the Blues was back in 1933 in the FA Cup.
Brighton vs Chelsea Prediction:
Brighton will be the underdogs but what do they have to lose to try and play good football and frustrate Chelsea? This could be a good time to play the Blues who may now be concentrating on the cup competitions, as their league chances look over. At the same time Chelsea will not want to drop to 4th place and will want their Champions League entry for next season secured as quick as possible.
We shouldn’t underestimate Chelsea of course and at the end of the day they are the European champions but it has been interesting to see how the clubs form has dropped off in the past two months, it was exactly at this time that former manager Frank Lampard started to struggle after a bright start.
It’s hard to be convinced that the home side are around 5.00 to win this one and the value bet could be backing Brighton on the handicap. All does not seem well at Chelsea, of course on their day they should be winning these games but it’s just 1 victory away from home in their last four and that doesn’t seem quite convincing to us.
Brighton vs Chelsea Betting Tips:
Double Chance: Brighton or draw at 2.05
Anytime goalscorer: Romelu Lukaku at 2.50
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