Chelsea vs Brighton: Preview & Prediction

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Match Preview:

Surely Chelsea are at the stage now where this could be a make or break season for them. The making of most clubs is to finish in a decent position but for Chelsea it is to win the league title. As we reach the half way point of the season though most would consider Manchester City and Liverpool still a level up from Thomas Tuchel’s side.

Chelsea have been dropping points in the past month and as a consequence have fallen from 1st place to 3rd. Although the Blues have 41 points and the same as Liverpool they have also played a game more and remain six points behind league leaders Manchester City. The club did welcome back Romelu Lukaku to his goalscoring ways as he netted against Aston Villa at the weekend as Chelsea won that game 3-1. It was a good and uplifting win for the Blues against an in form Villa side.

Brighton are in 9th place and their recent slump ended at the weekend as they beat Brentford 2-0 at home. That was a typical fixture where Brighton could have struggled in the past but when the club are focused and at home they are a very hard team to crack down and beat, and this attitude is what manager Graham Potter will be striving for until the end of the season. Here we have a club who have struggled in recent years and yet this season they have a chance to finish in a European place.

A win against Chelsea would move the Seagulls up to 8th place and past Wolves and what has been interesting for Brighton is their overall away form. Not many would believe that Potter’s side have lost just once on the road. That defeat came against Aston Villa and the majority of their results have finished in draws with 5 so far from eight games played. The clubs last away game finished in a 1-1 draw against Southampton.

Team News: 

Chelsea: Kai Havertz is a doubt as he has Covid-19 and looks like he will miss out. N’Golo Kante has a knee injury and while it isn’t considered serious he remains a doubt for this game and is being tipped to return this weekend instead. Thiago Silva looks likely to miss this game with his hamstring, Ruben Loftus-Cheek will be assessed with his ankle injury. Timo Werner is 50/50 to return after having Covid-19 and remains a doubt for this game. Ben Chilwell will not return for another 2 weeks at least with his knee injury.

Brighton: Shane Duffy has a knock and is only 50/50 to make this game. Leandro Trossard has a hamstring injury though it is thought not to be serious and could be assessed for this game. Joel Veltman has been struggling with a lack of match fitness and remains a doubt. Lewis Dunk is out for another two weeks at least with his knee injury.

Chelsea vs Brighton Head to Head:

The clubs have only played each other 16 times in their history and Chelsea have won 12 of those games.

Brighton’s only win over Chelsea came in their first game with the Blues way back in 1933, it was an FA Cup match.

Last season this fixture finished 0-0.

Chelsea vs Brighton Prediction:

Chelsea are the odds on favourites of course and it would really feel like a surprise if they even drew this game. This is such an important fixture for Tuchel’s side because now they have the looming threat of 4th placed Arsenal who are on good form and are six points behind the Blues, drop points here and within a few weeks Arsenal could be the team in 3rd place, that is how quickly football can change.

Chelsea’s form has been average by their standards, though at the same time they have been hit by Covid-19 which has affected some key players. It is important that they are back at home though and Lukaku scoring a goal would have been a special moment for him, we all know when strikers get a goal after a long time they start scoring more frequently again. 

The home side are 1.44 to win this, it’s quite understandable but at the same time here we have a Chelsea side who have not always been able to see out their home games, think the 1-1 draws with both Burnley and Everton. We do however think they will be boosted by their last result and should win this game, and to increase the odds at no extra risk we recommend a -1 asian handicap.

Chelsea vs Brighton Betting Tips:

Asian handicap (-1 Chelsea) at 1.65

Anytime goalscorer: Romelu Lukaku at 1.80