(Football news) The two teams butt heads for the first time in four months when the West Londoners came out on top via a 2-1 scoreline against the Seagulls at the Amex Stadium.
Since playing out a frustrating 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace on home soil, Chelsea have won each of their last three games across all competitions by an aggregate score of 9-0, including back-to-back victories over Bournemouth (1-0) and West Ham United (3-0) in the Premier League.
Three days on from beating the Hammers in their own back yard, Enzo Maresca made 11 changes for Tuesday’s EFL Cup third-round tie against fourth-tier team Barrow, but his side still managed to cruise to a 5-0 win on home soil, with Christopher Nkunku unsurprisingly in the headlines for netting a superb hat-trick.
Chelsea will face either Newcastle United or AFC Wimbledon in the fourth round next month, but they must now turn their attention to Saturday’s top-flight clash with Brighton before facing Gent (Europa Conference League) and Nottingham Forest. Maresca will be keen to see his side build on the positive run of form they have put together and enter the next international break on a high.
Interestingly, no Premier League team have accumulated more points than Chelsea (25) since the start of May, with 10 of those picked up in their opening five matches of the current campaign, which sees them sitting fifth in the table and only three points behind reigning champions Manchester City at the summit.
Chelsea have won all three of their top-flight away games this term, but they are yet to celebrate success at Stamford Bridge. The Blues have also won just one of their last four Premier League home meetings with Brighton, but that was recorded in their most recent such clash – a 3-2 victory in December 2023.
Brighton are one of only four Premier League teams who are still unbeaten after five matches this season and were involved in a feisty 2-2 draw with another of those, Nottingham Forest, at the Amex Stadium last weekend.
In a contest that saw both managers sent off and Morgan Gibbs-White controversially dismissed late on, Brighton were leading 2-1 at the interval thanks to two goals scored in three minutes from Jack Hinshelwood and Danny Welbeck, but a 70th-minute strike from Ramon Sosa ultimately salvaged a point for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side.
Fabian Hurzeler will not be in the dugout when Brighton travel to Chelsea on Saturday, as he has been charged by the FA with “acting in an improper manner” in the closing stages of last weekend’s draw.
Assistant coach Andrew Crofts is therefore set to lead the Seagulls at Stamford Bridge and believes that the first-team squad have “a lot to learn, review, analyse and grow from” following the draw with Forest.
Brighton will be seeking revenge against Chelsea after they suffered defeat both home and away against the Blues last season; the Seagulls have only ever won three of their previous 23 meetings with the West Londoners across all competitions.
Also read: Liverpool will play Wolverhampton in the English Premier League
