Defending Premier League champions Chelsea are hoping to record their first victory of 2018 when they visit newly-promoted Brighton at Amex Stadium on Saturday. The Blues won the reverse fixture 2-0 on Boxing Day with goals from Alvaro Morata and Marcos Alonso. The two teams have met on just nine occasions as they have played in different divisions most of the time, and Chelsea won seven of those nine matches. Brighton have not defeated Chelsea since 1933 when they secured a 2-1 victory in the FA Cup.
Brighton have not won any of their last four Premier League matches and have lost two of them, a string of results which keeps them just three points above the relegation zone. However, they have been very tough to beat at home this season, they have lost just two of their eleven matches at Amex Stadium. Last weekend they lost 2-0 at West Bromwich Albion, five days after a 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace in the FA Cup. Steve Sidwell remains the only injury concern for manager Chris Hughton.
Chelsea have not any of their five matches in all competitions since the turn of the year and also recorded three consecutive goalless draws before this week's victory on penalties over Norwich in the FA Cup. Alvaro Morata and Pedro got sent off during extra time on Wednesday so they will be suspended for this match, while Cesc Fabregas and Gary Cahill are injury doubts. Chelsea dropped to fourth place in the Premier League table, tied on 47 points with Liverpool and three points behind second-placed Manchester United.
Probable line-ups:
Brighton: Ryan - Bruno, Duffy, Dunk, Bong - Knockaert, Stephens, Propper, Izquierdo - Gross - Murray
Chelsea: Courtois - Azpilicueta, Christensen, Rudiger - Moses, Drinkwater, Kante, Bakayoko, Alonso - Willian - Hazard
My prediction: 1-1 draw.
Here are the odds for the match at Bet365:
Brighton win - 6.50
Draw - 3.89
Chelsea win - 1.61
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Comments (1)
sharpe
01/25/18, 08:01:39 PM
Chelsea performances are quite up and down recently but the general feeling is that Conte is not happy with the transfer market activity of the club and he even...
Chelsea performances are quite up and down recently but the general feeling is that Conte is not happy with the transfer market activity of the club and he even may not participate in the decisions for who's being brought to the team. Anyway, they won confidently that one over the recently struggling Brighton who has started to look more and more desperate lately.
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