Premier League,
Round 2
Chelsea
CHE
Brighton
BRI
-
Venue
- Stamford Bridge
-
Referee
- M. Oliver
Chelsea v Brighton Premier League preview
Chelsea will hope to bring an end to their poor recent record against Brighton and Hove Albion when they welcome the Seagulls to Stamford Bridge.
The Blues have won both of their opening competitive games under Xabi Alonso, following up a 3-2 Premier League win over Fulham by beating Luton Town 2-0 in the EFL Cup.
However, Chelsea are on a three-game losing streak against Fabian Hurzeler’s Brighton, who began their Premier League season with a thumping 4-0 win over Aston Villa.
They prevailed by the same scoreline against Tromso on Thursday to book their place in the league phase of the Conference League.
Brighton won 3-1 at Stamford Bridge last season before triumphing in the reverse fixture on the south coast 3-0.
Danny Welbeck scored three goals across those games but, with the experienced striker having left Brighton to join Chelsea, and the Blues’ front three of Joao Pedro, Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers looking imperious at Fulham, the hosts can have reason for confidence of claiming all three points.
Alonso, who had to face more questions about the future of Manchester City target Enzo Fernandez after he was left out of the squad to face Luton, is anticipating another challenging encounter against Brighton.
“I know him [Hurzeler] very well from Germany, from St Pauli,” the former Bayer Leverkusen and Real Madrid boss said.
“He’s developing the team, new players, a very intense team with interesting things. So, that’s why it’s going to be a good clash, a good test, on Sunday.”
A Brighton defence that has not received much of an examination to this point may have their hands full with Chelsea’s star-studded attack.
Welbeck got off the mark for Chelsea against Luton, but Hurzeler is hopeful he avoids repeating the feat and coming back to haunt his former club.
“We had a really, really good relationship and like I always said, I was really grateful working with him because he helped me a lot,” Hurzeler said of Welbeck.
“He helped me on the pitch. He helped me beside the pitch. Therefore I’m really delighted to see that he scored yesterday. On Sunday he can take a break and then afterwards I wish him all the best again.”
Chelsea v Brighton team news
Marco Palestra is likely to miss out again for Chelsea, while Jordan Henderson is not ready to return from the wrist injury he suffered at the World Cup.
Wesley Fofana is available to make his return from suspension, and Alonso is hopeful Moises Caicedo will be ready to feature for the first time this season.
Jack Hinshelwood and Georginio Rutter are both doubts for Brighton, though the latter is viewed as having a better chance of playing.
Yankuba Minteh remains sidelined along with Stefanos Tzimas and Evan Ferguson, while Kaoru Mitoma is also set to miss out again with a hamstring issue.
Chelsea v Brighton expected Premier League line ups
Chelsea starting XI: Sanchez; Fofana, Lacroix, Colwill; Gusto, James, Lavia, Hato; Palmer, Pedro, Rodgers.
Brighton & Hove Albion starting XI: Verbruggen; Kadioglu, Vuskovic, Dunk, Boscagli; Gross, Ayari; Gomez, Kostoulas, De Cuyper; David.
Chelsea v Brighton stats, recent Premier League form
- Having been unbeaten in their first 10 Premier League games against Brighton (W6 D4), Chelsea have lost five of their last eight against the Seagulls (W3)
- They have won their first home league game of the season once in the last seven campaigns (D4 L2), beating Crystal Palace 3-0 in 2021/22
- Chelsea’s Danny Welbeck is Brighton’s highest ever scorer in the Premier League, with 46 goals in 176 appearances
- Welbeck is also the highest scorer in Chelsea vs Brighton matches in the division, with four of his six such goals coming at Stamford Bridge
- The Blues have not kept a clean sheet in each of their last 17 Premier League games, which is their longest run in the top flight since August 1991 (also 17). They last endured a longer such sequence in August 1961 (31 games)
- Brighton have won their last three Premier League games against Chelsea, netting exactly three goals each time
- The last team to score at last three goals in four consecutive league games against Chelsea were West Ham, between 1972 and 1974
- Albion have won eight of their last 13 Premier League games (D1 L4), having recorded one win in the preceding 13 matches (D6 L6)
- Since the start of that run on February 21, only Arsenal (30), Manchester City (28) and Manchester United (26) have more points in the competition
- Only Brighton (3.54) recorded a higher open play expected goals total on matchday one than Chelsea (1.96), despite having 38.1% of the possession, which was Albion’s lowest in a league victory since May 2025 against Liverpool (35.3%)
Where to watch Chelsea v Brighton: TV channel, live online streams
Kick-off on Sunday is at 14:00 BST (09:00 ET / 06:00 PT), with live coverage in the UK on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Ultra.
Via Now TV, Sky Sports costs £14.99 for a day membership, £27.99 a month for a 12-month membership or £34.99 a month with no contract.
Chelsea v Brighton Premier League prediction
Chelsea looked vulnerable at the back in their opening win over Fulham, but Brighton’s ability to take advantage of their frailties may be restricted by their injuries. Expect the Blues’ hot start in front of goal to continue.
Match Prediction
Chelsea
Brighton
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