England Premier League
Sunday 3rd December 2023
Kick off at 2pm GMT
Venue: Stamford Bridge
Match Preview:
Chelsea’s small revival was brutally ended by Newcastle last weekend as they were beaten 4-1 away from home. Before that the Blues seemed to have turned a corner with a 4-1 win over Tottenham followed by an epic 4-4 draw at home to Manchester City. But 4 seems to be the magic or unlucky number lately for Mauricio Pochettino’s side who have either seen four goals fly past them or scored them in their last three games. 18 goals have been involved in that time so we can suspect to see more in this one on Sunday. Chelsea come into this game in 10th place with 16 points and already look out of a top four finish as they are 12 points behind. There is still plenty of time to turn the season around though but questions will continue to be asked of a team who have only been able to pick up 6 points from seven games and on home form alone they would be in 15th place.
Brighton are in 8th place, have started strong with 22 points and are six clear of their hosts. With just three games lost so far the Seagulls are flying high and continue to punch above their weight. They also come into this game unbeaten in their last four games and we would have to go back six weeks since their last defeat which came against Manchester City. Since then they have drawn three games which came against Fulham, Everton and Sheffield United and last weekend they were able to beat Nottingham Forest 3-2. Away form overall has been decent with 50% of their games won and losing to Manchester City and Aston Villa can hardly be seen as surprise defeats. Goals have been aplenty for the club on the road with 13 goals scored and only Manchester City and Tottenham have scored more.
Team News:
Chelsea: Marc Cucarella is suspended for this game after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season, Reece James is suspended after his sending off last weekend. Malo Gusto could be assessed after a knee injury. Christopher Nkunku could be assessed after a lengthy time off with a knee injury. The following players remain out with no fixed return date; Carney Chukwuemeka, Trevoh Chabolah, Ben Chilwell, Wesley Fofana and Romeo Lavia.
Brighton: Lewis Dunk and Mahmoud Dahoud are both serving suspensions and are not due back until next weekend. Adam Webster remains a doubt with a knock and could be set to miss out again but could be back next week. The following players are out long term; Ansu Fati, Julio Enciso, Pervis Estupinan, Tariq Lamptey, March Soloman and Danny Welbeck.
Chelsea vs Brighton Head to Head:
Last season Brighton won 2-1 in this fixture.
In the last 7 meetings Chelsea have won just once.
4 of the last five meetings has seen both teams to score.
Chelsea vs Brighton Prediction:
With such a multi talented team observers are waiting for Chelsea to click. The Tottenham victory seemed to be it but at the same time they were playing a side with 9 players. Against Manchester City a draw is good but they still conceded four goals and have shipped 8 goals in their last two games, so what gives? What does Pochettino bring to this side? If it’s excitement and attacking play that will be welcomed but surely not at the expense of poor defending. The Premier League is great at exposing poor defending and Pochettino is going to need time to get everything right, does modern football allow for that?
This is a fixture in which Chelsea have been superior but in recent times they have come off second best even in home games. Perhaps though the club will take heart from the last meeting in September in which they were able to knock them out of the EFL Cup with a 1-0 home victory. A lot seems to be against Chelsea right now but we will back them to win this game in part because of Brighton’s ever growing injury list but also because Chelsea do possess a quality side, are scoring goals recently and Pochettino will just have to find his best team and best set up, perhaps that could be this weekend.
Chelsea vs Brighton Betting Tips:
Chelsea to beat Brighton at 1.70
Anytime goalscorer: Raheem Sterling at 2.50
Both teams to score at 1.50
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