Chelsea vs Brighton preview: The Blues gunning to return back to winning ways

Chelsea host Brighton & Hove Albion today at Stamford Bridge after coming off a 2-1 loss to Manchester United and a 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur, respectively.

The Blues saw off Lincoln City with a 2-1 win in a midweek Carabao Cup clash in their last outing.

The Seagulls also took down lower-league opposition Barnsley 6-0 as Diego Gómez hit a haul in midweek action.

Match preview

Chelsea are unbeaten in their last 12 home Premier League games (W9 D3), keeping seven clean sheets in their last nine at Stamford Bridge. They’re looking for four home clean sheets in a row for the first time since their first five under Thomas Tuchel between January and March 2021.

In all competitions, the Blues have won nine and lost just one of their 12 previous home games against Brighton and Hove Albion (D2), winning their last three in a row since a 1-2 reverse in April 2023.

Brighton have won three of their last six league meetings with Chelsea (L3); this is after winning none of their first 14 beforehand (D4 L10).

Enzo Maresca’s men have conceded twice in each of their last two Premier League matches, as many times as they’d done in their previous 15 games combined. They last did that in three games in a row in March and April 2024 (five in a row).

The Seagulls have only kept one clean sheet in their last 17 Premier League matches, a 2-0 win over Wolves in May. Since the start of 2023/24, the only ever-present sides with fewer clean sheets than the Seagulls (14) are West Ham and Wolves (13 each).

In this fixture last season, Cole Palmer ran the show as he bagged a first-half haul in the Blues’ 4-2 win over Brighton, becoming the first Premier League player to achieve that feat.

Team news

Chelsea

Maresca has decided to keep Palmer sidelined for the next two to three weeks until after the international break due to a groin issue to prevent further complications.

Levi Colwill (knee), Liam Delap (hamstring), Tosin Adarabioyo (calf), and Wesley Fofana (concussion) will all be absent against the Seagulls.

However, there may be two returns, with Benoit Badiashile and Romeo Lavia returning back to training, but the Chelsea boss will make decisions about their fitness level.

Loanee Facundo Buonanotte is ineligible to face his parent club, and he misses out.

Robert Sanchez returns from suspension after receiving the earliest four-minute Premier League red card in history.

Brighton & Hove Albion

The Seagulls have been boosted by the return to fitness of four players, with Mats Wieffer, Maxim De Cuyper, Brajan Gruda, and Yankuba Minteh all available for selection.

The influx of players provides manager Fabian Hürzeler with more options, particularly at full-back.

Jack Hinshelwood remains on the injury list along with long-term absentees Adam Webster and Solly March.

Predicted line-ups

Chelsea: Sanchez, James, Acheampong, Chalobah, Cucurella, Caicedo, Fernandez, Estevao, Santos, Neto, Pedro.

Brighton: Verbruggen, Veltman, Dunk, Van Hecke, De Cuyper, Baleba, Ayari, Minteh, Gomez, Mitoma, Rutter.