Brighton vs Chelsea Prediction: The Blues can get back to shutting teams out
Brighton & Hove Albion welcome Chelsea to the Amex Stadium on Wednesday evening (19:45) having picked up four points from their last two matches. They defeated Aston Villa 1-0 on home soil over a week ago, before holding Newcastle United to a 1-1 draw at St James' Park at the weekend.
They will face a tough test against Mauricio Pochettino's Chelsea side, who have won their last three matches. They fought back from 2-1 down to beat Nottingham Forest last time out and they will fancy their chances against the Seagulls, as do I. Below I have put forward my Brighton vs Chelsea predictions, which feature match odds and team news.
Brighton are 12/5 to win this contest, which gives them an implied probability of 29.4%. Chelsea are 1/1 to claim their fourth victory on the bounce, giving them a 50% chance of taking the three points. The draw can be backed at 11/4 (26.7%).
Both teams have scored in seven of the last eight Premier League meetings between these two sides. BTTS has also been a winning bet in 12 of Chelsea's 14 trips on the road in the league this season. It is valued at 4/11 to come in on this occasion. Over 2.5 goals is on offer at the same price of 4/11, and that too has been a successful selection in 12 of the Blues' away matches.
Chelsea attacker Cole Palmer has scored 21 goals in the top-flight so far and he is priced at 4/1 to open the scoring, and 21/20 to score anytime on Wednesday. His teammate, Nicolas Jackson, has 14 this campaign and he is 6/4 to score anytime here.
Team News
Brighton defender Joel Veltman was subbed off some time after opening the scoring at the weekend due to a knock, but it is not believed to be anything serious, so he could play a part in midweek. The same applies to attacker Julio Enciso, while the forward ranks have suffered a huge blow with Joao Pedro having sustained an ankle injury ahead of the trip to Newcastle.
He joined Solly March, Evan Ferguson, Kaoru Mitoma, Pervis Estupinan, Jack Hinshelwood, Jan Paul van Hecke and James Milner on the sidelines.
Chelsea welcomed back Reece James and Lesley Ugochukwu to the squad against Forest, with the former making a cameo in the second half. The Blues are still missing Robert Sanchez, Ben Chilwell, Romeo Lavia, Carney Chukwuemeka, Enzo Fernandez and Wesley Fofana due to injury, however.
Chelsea to win @ 1/1
Brighton will be feeling somewhat confident after going two games unbeaten but the truth is that they have managed just three wins in their last 12 league appearances, whereas Chelsea have managed that in as many matches.
Pochettino's side are finishing the season strongly, which is giving us some insight into how they might be come the start of the next campaign in August. The Seagulls' attacking injuries are also showing by the fact that they have only mustered five goals in their last nine fixtures. In comparison, Chelsea put five past West Ham two games ago and they have scored 10 in their last three.
Their confidence will be higher than the hosts and I fancy them to extend their winning streak to four matches, especially with the form that they are in, as well as their attacking stars in Palmer and Jackson. And with Chelsea having a genuine shot of finishing in the top six to secure European football, I cannot see them letting this opportunity pass them by.
Chelsea to keep a clean sheet @ 3/1
Brighton's struggles in front of goal in recent weeks does make me believe that the Blues will be able to keep a clean sheet on Wednesday night. Two of their recent wins saw them shut out the opposition against Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United, and I feel they can do so against the Seagulls.
I'm expecting them to dominate the ball here and after leaking two goals at the weekend, Pochettino will be looking to secure his back line. There will of course be a focus on Chelsea scoring a few goals to strengthen their goal difference, but it doesn't count as much if they are conceding in the process.
The Blues will want to post another shut out here before they head into the final weekend's clash with AFC Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge. Joao Pedro's absence for the hosts diminishes their goal threat, and before the weekend, Chelsea's defence were playing with solidity, so there should be no issues for them to rediscover that strength on the south coast.
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