Premier League: Chelsea v Brighton preview, predictions and tips

Ladbrokes shares its preview, tips and predictions for Chelsea v Brighton at Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon in the Premier League.

In a meeting of two teams who, to their credit, have started the season rather well, Brighton travel to London to face a Chelsea side who have serious aspirations of finishing inside the top four and qualifying for the Champions League come May 2025.

Many fans slaughtered the Chelsea board for firing Mauricio Pochettino at the end of last season, but Enzo Maresca has done incredibly well since coming in, with the Blues undefeated in the Premier League after their loss to Man City on the opening day.

Brighton, in a similar vein, have done rather well since new manager Fabian Hurzeler came into the job, beating Man United and draw with Arsenal so far this season.

So, with all that being said, join Ladbrokes as our team of experts share their preview, tips and predictions for the big Chelsea v Brighton game.

Chelsea are undefeated in their last four Premier League games, whilst Brighton haven't actually lost in the league this season, even picking up points against Arsenal and Man United, as noted previously.

The feeling seems to be that both sides are in a good spell of form right now, but whether that sentiment remains the same come the final whistle on Saturday afternoon remains to be seen, with both sides possessing the quality to blow the other out of the water.

Chelsea are coming off the back of a 5-0 win against Barrow in the Carabao Cup, having beaten West Ham 3-0 in a convincing win at the London Stadium last weekend.

Brighton, on the other hand, drew 2-2 with also unbeaten Nottingham Forest last weekend with Danny Welbeck and Jack Hinshelwood getting themselves on the scoresheet.

The bookies feel that a win for Chelsea is the most likely outcome on Saturday afternoon, with the Blues' chances of winning at over 58% according to the latest odds.

A draw is surprisingly at 25%, which is the outcome that many fans and pundits are expecting to see come the final whistle at Stamford Bridge this weekend.

As for who'll be missing for Chelsea, Maresca is without Reece James and Romeo Lavia, who are missing with hamstring and thigh issues respectively.

Malo Gusto made his return against Barrow and could feature yet again for the Blues on Saturday, whilst Christopher Nkunku will be hoping that his double in the cup earns him the start he's been without in the league for the last few game weeks.

Despite that, Nicolas Jackson and Jadon Sancho are in top form right now, so it's doubtful whether or not Maresca will risk ruining the team's cohesion and bringing the former PSG and Leipzig man into the side.

Unfortunately for Brighton, Hurzeler has confirmed that Joao Pedro will be missing following an injury picked up in the aforementioned game against Nottingham Forest, with the Brazilian joining Matt O'Riley, Solly March and James Milner on the sidelines.

Yasin Ayari missed his side's last game with illness, but he and new signing Brajan Gruda are expected to be deemed fit enough to return to the side this weekend, with Mats Wieffer also hoping to get into the starting XI.

As for Pedro's replacement, Welbeck is set to continue as his side's number nine, with Georginio Rutter expected to be the man picked to partner him once again.

Possible starting line-ups:

Chelsea - Sanchez; Gusto, Fofana, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez; Palmer, Madueke, Sancho; Jackson

Brighton - Verbruggen; Veltman, Dunk, Van Hecke, Hinshelwood; Baleba, Wieffer; Minteh, Rutter, Mitoma; Welbeck

As explained earlier, the feeling amongst fans and pundits is that Brighton and Chelsea's game on Saturday is going to end in a draw, and our team of experts tend to agree with that sentiment.

However, we want to go further and suggest a few other picks and predictions for the game, and that starts with Marc Cucurella picking up a yellow card.

The left-back was a key component in Spain winning Euro 2024 this summer, and has carried that form into his club career with Chelsea this season, starring in a role that's seen him invert into midfielder.

However, this weekend he comes up against one of the league's most dangerous and quick wingers in the form of Yankuba Minnteh, and we expect the former Barcelona man to be really up against it, earning himself a yellow card in the process.

From one Chelsea player in good form to another, we end the article with a positive pick for the boys in blue as we predict that Jackson finds the back of the net once again in the Premier League.

The striker struggled in his first season, but has played very well over the last few games, even keeping Nkunku out of the team. He scored two against West Ham, and while Brighton will be better defensively, we still think the he finds the back of the net.

You can either place single bets on the tips we've included within this preview article, or merge them into a five-fold acca, which we've posted below.

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All odds and markets are correct as of the date of publication.