Premier League: Beaten Down Blues Desperate to Bounce Back at Brighton

Brighton & Hove Albion vs Chelsea

Chelsea’s Premier League title chances are all but over after suffering a 1-0 defeat to defending champions Manchester City.

The Blues must now turn their focus on securing second spot as they visit Brighton at the Amex this midweek.

The two sides just met at the end of December, with Brighton holding defying the Premier League 2022 betting odds by holding the Blues to a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge. Can the Seagulls hand Chelsea another costly setback?

Talking Points

Chelsea crisis continues

Chelsea lost 1-0 to Manchester City in their big top-of-the-table clash, a result that has all but ended Chelsea’s title chances this season.

The Blues are now 13 points back of leaders City after a disastrous run of Premier League 2022 results that has seen them win just one of their last six matches.

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel still can’t seem to get the best out of record signing Romelu Lukaku. Tuchel brought Lukaku back into the side for the EFL Cup semi-finals after dropping him against Liverpool, but he criticised the big Belgian for his disappointing display against City.

“We lost too many balls too easily. Romelu Lukaku sometimes needs to do the service, he is included in this, he had many ball losses in very promising circumstances, he had a huge chance,” Tuchel said post-match.

After Tuchel’s criticism, it’s quite possible that he makes a change and brings Kai Havertz back to lead the Chelsea attack in place of Lukaku. Mason Mount, who came on as a sub against City, is also expected to replace either Christian Pulisic or Hakim Ziyech in the starting XI.

Meanwhile, Tuchel is likely to rotate his midfield. Jorginho – who didn’t play any part in the City match – is the prime candidate to hand N’Golo Kante a rest.

Brighton missing key midfield duo

Brighton extended their unbeaten run to four straight games as they drew 1-1 at home with Crystal Palace. A late Joachim Andersen own goal gave the Seagulls a share of the spoils.

Graham Potter’s men absolutely dominated the match as they had 19 shots to Palace’s three. Jakub Moder hit the woodwork while Pascal Gross missed a peanlty which could have given them all three points.

Brighton were without Enock Mwepu due to a hamstring injury he suffered in their FA Cup win against West Brom. The young midfielder has been in fine form of late with three assists in his last four appearances, but he will miss several weeks due to the injury.

Mwepu’s injury is a big blow to Brighton, who are already without their other star midfielder, Yves Bissouma, who is in Africa Cup of Nations duty.

Young midfielders Jakub Moder and Alexis Mac Allister will look to fill the void left by Mwepu and provide support to the front two of Neil Maupay and Leandro Trossard. Moder had a goal and an assist in Brighton’s 2-1 win over West Brom in the FA Cup and has also hit the woordwork twice in his last three Premier League games. As for Mac Allister, he had a brace in their 3-2 win over Everton.

History

This will be the second time Brighton and Chelsea will meet in the space of just a few weeks. Brighton outplayed Chelsea at Stamford Bridge but were behind thanks to a Romelu Lukaku goal.

However, substitute Danny Welbeck scored in stoppage time to give the Seagulls a share of the spoils in a 1-1 draw. That was a historic goal, Brighton’s first-ever at Stamford Bridge.

Despite the draw, Chelsea maintained their remarkable unbeaten record against Brighton. They haven’t lost to the Seagulls since their first-ever meeting back in 1933.

But the Seagulls have now held Chelsea to a draw in three of their last four meetings in the Premier League.

Betting Tip

	Brighton & Hove Albion vs Chelsea	1X2 Draw @ 3.55
	January 19, 04:00 (GMT+8)

Despite Chelsea’s shaky form of late, SBOTOP odds still have the Blues priced as significant 1.69 favourites. Brighton are pegged at 5.00 to get the home win, while a draw is at 3.55.

It’s difficult to have too much confidence in Chelsea getting the win given their concerning form of late. And even if they were playing at their best, the Amex is not an easy place to visit, with Brighton capable of giving even the best teams a tough test.

I fully expect the Seagulls to trouble Tuchel’s side just like they did a few weeks ago and pick up another point against the Blues.

 

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