Chelsea vs Brighton & Hove Albion odds and betting statistics
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Chelsea vs Brighton & Hove Albion recommended bets
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Chelsea vs Brighton & Hove Albion match preview
12 months ago, Brighton & Hove Albion were winless in 17 meetings with Chelsea, dating back to the club’s very first encounter, this an FA Cup tie all the way back in 1933.
Since then, the Seagulls have beaten the Blues both home and away in the Premier League, so do the visitors actually come into this clash as favourites?
Well, the respective zeitgeists around both clubs could hardly be more contrasting.
Chelsea were beaten yet again on Sunday, this time defeated 1-0 by Aston Villa at home.
This leaves Mauricio Pochettino’s team 14th, on a mere five points after six outings, with their only wins of the season so far coming against Luton and League Two AFC Wimbledon, the latter in this competition.
The Blues were hammered at this stage of the Carabao Cup last season by Manchester City, but haven’t suffered back-to-back third round exits since 2001, winning the competition three times subsequently.
At the weekend, the Seagulls came from a goal down to beat Bournemouth at the Amex, with Kaoru Mitoma on target twice in the second half, the first coming a mere 15 seconds after he’d been introduced at the interval.
Amazingly, Brighton haven’t gone beyond the fourth round of the EFL Cup since 1978/79, falling at that hurdle in each of the last three seasons.
Will Roberto De Zerbi’s team remain on course to change that fact, or will Chelsea claim a much-needed victory at Stamford Bridge?
Chelsea team news
Trevoh Chalobah, Wesley Fofana, Benoît Badiashile, Roméo Lavia, Reece James, Carney Chukwuemeka and Christopher Nkunku are all injured, while Malo Gusto is now suspended for three games.
In goal, USMNT international Đorđe Petrović is likely to make his debut while, in attack, given that he’s suspended for Monday’s trip to Fulham, Nicolas Jackson will lead the line.
In some much-needed good news, Armando Broja came off the bench for 11 minutes on Sunday, making his first appearance since rupturing his ACL during a mid-season friendly in Dubai last December.
Predicted XI (4-3-3): Petrović; Disasi, Thiago Silva, Colwill, Maatsen; Ugochukwu, Gallagher, Fernández; Palmer, Chilwell, Jackson.
Brighton & Hove Albion team news
Unlike his opposite number, Roberto De Zerbi is juggling both European and domestic commitments, so will continue to rotate his line-up.
A microcosm of this can be seen in goal, where Bart Verbruggen made his third appearance of the season on Sunday, while Jason Steele has started four matches, including last Thursday’s defeat to AEK Athens.
João Pedro converted two penalties in that Europa League game, so could return up front, rotated in for Evan Ferguson, while Ansu Fati, Solly March and Kaoru Mitoma are also likely to return to the XI.
Meanwhile, should he feature, it would be James Milner’s 44th appearance in the EFL Cup, featuring for a sixth different club, while only seven men have made more appearances in the competition’s 63-year history.
Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Steele; Veltman, van Hecke, Igor, Lamptey; Gilmour, Dahoud, March, Ansu, Mitoma; João Pedro.
Carabao Cup third round results & fixtures
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