Chelsea look to take a huge step towards Champions League qualification as they host Brighton & Hove Albion at Stamford Bridge in Tuesday Night Football.
Victory would see Chelsea climb to third until at least Thursday evening, whereas Brighton can move above Newcastle and Southampton into 14th with a win.
Team News
Mateo Kovacic is set to return for Chelsea after missing their last two games with a hamstring injury.
Andreas Christiansen (hamstring) and Thiago Silva (back) are doubts.
Brighton will welcome Percy Tau back after he missed their last two matches following a positive Coronavirus test.
Aaron Connolly (foot) and Florian Andone (hamstring) could also feature but Tariq Lamptey (hamstring) and Solly March (knee) remain absent.
Stat Attack
- Chelsea have taken 19 points from seven Premier League meetings against Brighton (W6, D1).
- Brighton have failed to score in three Premier League trips to Stamford Bridge, conceding seven goals across those three visits (L3).
- Chelsea have conceded just five goals in seven home games across all competitions under Thomas Tuchel, with all five conceded goals coming in their 5-2 defeat to West Brom earlier this month.
- Danny Welbeck has scored in two of Brighton’s last three matches.
- Chelsea have drawn both home games this season refereed by Stuart Attwell (D2).
Prediction
Chelsea will certainly come into this game with confidence after a hugely well disciplined victory in the FA Cup on Saturday, because they executed their game plan clinically on the counter-attack against Manchester City’s immense pressure.
Brighton meanwhile will be relieved to have claimed a point in last week’s goalless draw against Everton, although they will have to improve their finishing here because to waste 20 shots off target is just poor and Chelsea would certainly punish those mistakes here.
Saying that, I think we will see Tuchel ring the changes amongst his Chelsea squad so this could be a close contest, although I am going for a home win given their strong form in this fixture.
Prediction: Chelsea 2-1 Brighton
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