Brighton entertain top-six chasing Chelsea at AMEX Stadium in a rearranged Premier League encounter.
Roberto De Zerbi’s Seagulls will stay 10th regardless of the result unless they lose by nine or more goals.
Chelsea meanwhile can go sixth if they better Newcastle’s result at Manchester United, which takes place slightly later than this game.
Team News
Joel Veltman is ruled out for Brighton after he suffered a knock in their 1-1 draw at Newcastle last weekend.
Joao Pedro (ankle) could return but Jan Paul van Hecke (muscle), Pervis Estupinan, Evan Ferguson (both ankle), James Milner (thigh), Jack Hinshelwood (foot), Kaoru Mitoma (back) and Solly March (knee) remain absent.
Chelsea have no fresh injury concerns to report after their win at Nottingham Forest but Ben Chilwell and Carney Chukwuemeka are both back in training following their recoveries from knee injuries.
Robert Sanchez (illness), Enzo Fernandez (groin), Wesley Fofana (ACL) and Romeo Lavia (thigh) remain ruled out.
When is Kick-Off?
Brighton host Chelsea at 7:45pm BST on Wednesday 15 May at AMEX Stadium, untelevised live in the UK.
Stat Attack
- Brighton have lost one of their last five league meetings against Chelsea (W2, D3, L1).
- Chelsea have lost one of their six previous Premier League trips to Brighton (W3, D2, L1).
- Brighton and Chelsea have both scored in seven of their last eight league meetings, except for a 0-0 draw at Stamford Bridge in April 2020.
- No defender has created more passes in the league this season than Brighton’s Lewis Dunk, who has made 3,176 passes in 32 appearances.
- Nicola Jackson has been involved in 19 league goals for Chelsea this season, having scored 14 goals and created five assists in 33 appearances.
Prediction
With a top-eight still achievable if they win their last two games and results elsewhere go in their favour, Brighton need to play as well as they’ve done in their last two matches where their defence has been solid and clinical in attack.
Chelsea though are in decent form with three consecutive wins but they did look slow and sluggish at Forest until a late substitution sparked a comeback win – after conceding twice from 1-0 up which showed how vulnerable their defence still is when under pressure.
I though do expect both teams to score because Chelsea do seem allergic to away clean sheets – with just two clean sheets on the road all season, but the Blues’ attacking quality should just about see them to the win if can unlock Brighton’s defence.
Prediction: Brighton 1-2 Chelsea
Result: Brighton 1-2 Chelsea
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