Charles Jackson
Chelsea are away to Brighton and Hove Albion on Wednesday in search of a European place in the Premier League table thanks to a recent recovery in form under Mauricio Pochettino. The Blues defeated Nottingham Forest 3-2 at the weekend, while the Seagulls drew 1-1 with Newcastle United, marking the 14th game in all competitions in which Roberto De Zerbi’s men have failed to score more than once. turn. Brighton’s draw with Newcastle increased Chelsea’s chances of finishing in sixth place, while the Seafarers can now only finish eighth at best with little or nothing to play for.
With Bayern Munich continuing to go from one rejection to another as a managerial candidate, De Zerbi is certainly not too far away from being approached by the Germans, but the Italian has his sights set on back-to-back home wins for the first time in 2024, while the Chelsea is looking for its first pair of defenders. -to-back road wins this year. Right now, Manchester United could end Chelsea’s European hopes with an FA Cup victory, but Pochettino’s Blues are at least finishing this season on a relatively high level, which bodes well for next season. It may be 15 clean sheets, but the South American tactician now looks more secure in his role than he has for some time at Stamford Bridge.
Here are our stories, how you can watch the match and more:
How to watch and odds
- Date: Wednesday, May 15 | Time: 2:45 p.m. ET
- Location: American Express Stadium – Falmer, England
- To attend: Premium Peacock
- Chances: Brighton +230; Draw +320; Chelsea-105
Team News
Brighton: Joel Veltman suffered a knock last time out along with Julio Enciso, while De Zerbi is also likely to be without João Pedro, who was injured in training before Newcastle. Solly March, Kaoru Mitoma, Jack Hinshelwood, Pervis Estupinan, James Milner, Evan Ferguson and Jan Paul van Hecke are all out, while Veltman could be replaced by Tariq Lamptey.
Potential Brighton XI: Verbruggen; Lamptey, Dunk, Webster, Igor; Gilmour, Brutus; Adingra, Buonanotte, Fati; Wellbeck.
Chelsea: Lesley Ugochukwu and captain Reece James were available to Pochettino last time out, so Ben Chilwell, Robert Sanchez, Carney Chukwuemeka, Romeo Lavia, Wesley Fofana and Enzo Fernandez are the main names expected to be absent. Raheem Sterling, Malo Gusto and Axel Disasi could be recalled, but James is unlikely to start just yet.
Potential Chelsea XI: Petrovic; Taste, Disasi, Badiashile, Cucurella; Caicedo, Gallagher; Sterling, Palmer, Mudryk; Jackson.
Prediction
It’s hard to imagine Brighton can muster enough to beat Chelsea, so perhaps a draw is the best the exhausted hosts can realistically aim for – even if a narrow defeat seems more likely. Choice: Brighton 1, Chelsea 2.
