Chelsea welcome top-four chasing Brighton & Hove Albion to Stamford Bridge in a huge clash.
Victory would see Chelsea move up to 10th in the table if Fulham fail to win elsewhere, whilst Brighton could go sixth with a win if Villa lose in the lunchtime kick-off.
Team News
Kalidou Koulibaly is ruled out for Chelsea after he suffered a muscle injury during their Champions League defeat at Real Madrid in midweek.
Carney Chukwuemeka (knock) is unlikely to feature but Armando Broja (knee) remains absent.
Brighton will be without defender, Levi Colwill who is ineligible to face his parent club due to league rules concerning loan players, meaning that Adam Webster is set to replace him in central defence.
Tariq Lamptey (knee) is doubtful and won’t be risked unless match fit but Jakub Moder (knee), Jeremy Sarmiento (foot) and Adam Lallana (hamstring) remain absent.
When is Kick-Off?
Chelsea host Brighton at Stamford Bridge in a 3pm BST kick-off on Saturday 15 April, untelevised in the UK.
Stat Attack
- Chelsea are unbeaten in 10 of their 11 previous Premier League meetings against Brighton (W6, D4, L1).
- Brighton are winless in five previous Premier League visits to Chelsea (D2, L3).
- Chelsea have kept just one clean sheet in their last six meetings against Brighton, which came in a 0-0 draw at Stamford Bridge in April 2021.
- Mateo Kovacic has been booked in each of Chelsea’s last two home matches (D1, L1).
- Brighton have won just one of five previous league visits to London-based teams this season (W1, D1, L3), beating West Ham 2-0 at London Stadium in August.
Prediction
Entering this match without a goal in four matches and low on confidence, Chelsea face an uphill task to get anything here because they were still lacklustre for large parts of their loss at Real Madrid, aside from a late rally which ultimately didn’t end with at least one goal.
Brighton though hopefully will be mentally fired up after being done dirty by referee – Stuart Attwell and VAR in their defeat at Tottenham, although sloppy lapses in their tight marking did ultimately cost them aside from the refereeing idiocy in an otherwise dominant attack.
In fact, there is a huge difference in confidence levels between Chelsea and Brighton and if there is a time for the Seagulls to end their Stamford Bridge hoodoo, it is now and I seriously fancy them to take that chance if they are mentally at their peak performance.
Prediction: Chelsea 0-2 Brighton
Result: Chelsea 1-2 Brighton