Chelsea and Brighton braced for close-fought battle at the Bridge
Chelsea vs Brighton - 15/04/2023
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Brighton & Hove Albion will be looking to extend their lead over Chelsea in the Premier League table when the two sides lock horns at Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon.
As it stands, seventh-placed Brighton find themselves seven points clear of eleventh-placed Chelsea, while the Seagulls have two games in hand.
Graham Potter did not get the chance to face Brighton as Chelsea manager, as Frank Lampard replaced the out-of-favour boss in the Stamford Bridge hot seat.
Chelsea head into Saturday’s clash on the back of a 2-0 defeat to Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, with Ben Chilwell seeing red midway through the second half.
The Blues have now failed to win any of their last four games across all competitions, recording one draw and three defeats along the way.
It is also worth noting that Chelsea have failed to score a single goal in their previous four outings, conceding five in the process.
Having won just two of their last 11 Premier League encounters, Chelsea could struggle to claim all three points when the high-flying Seagulls come to town.
Brighton suffered a 2-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur last time out, ending an unbeaten run of five wins and two draws across all competitions.
When you look at the bigger picture, Roberto De Zerbi’s men have lost just two of their previous 16 matches, securing 10 wins along the way.
Impressively, Brighton have also avoided defeat at half time in each of their last 16 outings, proving that they invariably start games on the front foot.
It is also worth pointing out that only three teams – Manchester City, Arsenal and Spurs – have scored more goals than Brighton’s 52 this season.
Head-to-head: Brighton thrashed Chelsea 4-1 in the reverse fixture back in October, with Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Trevoh Chalobah scoring own goals.
That said, four of the last six Premier League meetings between Chelsea and Brighton have ended in a draw, with each draw producing under 2.5 goals.
Team news: Cesar Azpilicueta, Mason Mount and Thiago Silva are doubts for Chelsea, while Armando Broja and Carney Chukwuemeka are sidelined through injury.
Meanwhile, Brighton are currently without the injured quartet of Tariq Lamptey, Jeremy Sarmiento, Jakub Moder and Adam Lallana, while Chelsea loanee Levi Colwill is unable to face his parent club.
Although Brighton crushed Chelsea in the previous meeting, the Blues are expected to put up more of a fight on home soil.
With that in mind, Forebet predicts that Chelsea and Brighton will play out a low-scoring draw at Stamford Bridge, combining for under 2.5 goals.
Home team
Away team
Pred
Correct score
Avg. goals
Weather conditions
Coef.
Score
Live
coef.
EPL
304328
X
1 - 1
2.39
11°
3.30
2.45
3.30
2.80
no
no
no
1 - 2(1 - 1)
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