Chelsea visit Brighton and Hove Albion with just a point separating the sides in the Premier League table amid the Blues’ miserable recent form.
Liam Rosenior’s men slumped to a fourth successive league defeat without scoring as they were beaten 1-0 by Manchester United on Saturday.
With that result followed by Liverpool’s late Merseyside Derby win over Everton on Sunday, sixth-placed Chelsea now sit seven points outside the Champions League places with five games remaining.
And they are looking over the shoulder at those teams behind them in the race for Europe, with Brighton among them despite needing last-gasp equaliser to earn a 2-2 draw at relegation-threatened Tottenham.
Brighton won the reverse fixture 3-1 in September and have lost just one of their last seven games.
But Chelsea striker Liam Delap urged his team-mates to snatch a chance to quickly put the defeat to United behind them and make a strong start to a week that will end with an FA Cup semi-final against Leeds United.
“It’s really disappointing because we feel we didn’t deserve that,’ Delap told Chelsea’s official website after the United loss.
“We were the better team. It’s a horrible feeling. Obviously we had one man go off and we needed to switch on and defend that moment, and we didn’t.
“On another day we score four in the second half, but it was just one of those days. It’s not like we’re not creating chances. We’re creating plenty of chances, but it’s just that fine tweaking of our finishing and it going in.
“We’re frustrated, but it’s on us and we have to put it right. We’ve got a big chance to do that on Tuesday.”
“We all believe in each other, and we have the belief we can get both of them,” Delap added of the dual aim of a top-five finish and FA Cup glory.
“That’s our plan, that’s our aim. We have to look forward to Tuesday, and then we’ve got a massive game against Leeds. If we just iron out a few little details then we should be all right.”
Brighton are targeting a return to Europe after reaching the last 16 of the Europa League in the 2023-24 campaign.
A win over Chelsea would move Brighton up into sixth and put them in an excellent spot to equal their highest Premier League finish, achieved in 2022-23.
“It’s a position we should really embrace and we need to enjoy these moments and games because it’s a great opportunity for us to grow,” Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler said in his pre-match press conference.
However, Hurzeler is wary of Chelsea’s threat despite their recent barren run.
“They have enough individual quality to beat every team in the league,” he added.
“They are not on the best run but they play good football. We have to play intense again if you want to compete with them.”
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Team news for Brighton v Chelsea
Kaoru Mitoma is available for Brighton despite being forced off through injury against Tottenham.
However, Diego Gomez, whom Mitoma replaced in that game, will miss out after being withdrawn just 20 minutes into the contest in North London due to a knee injury.
Adam Webster and Stefanos Tzimas (both knee) remain out for the Seagulls, while James Milner has yet to shake off a knock.
Chelsea forward Joao Pedro is a doubt with a thigh problem that led to him being a surprise omission against United. Enzo Fernandez is available despite injuring his calf in that game, but Estevao (hamstring) is set for another spell on the sidelines.
Reece James (hamstring), Filip Jorgensen (groin), Jamie Gittens (hamstring) and Levi Colwill (knee) are all still out.
Predicted line-ups for Brighton v Chelsea
Brighton: Verbruggen; Wieffer, Dunk, Van Hecke, Kadioglu; Gross, Ayari; Minteh, Rutter, De Cuyper; Welbeck
Chelsea: Sanchez; Gusto, Fofana, Chalobah, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez; Palmer, Pedro, Neto; Delap
Where to watch Brighton v Chelsea: TV and online streams
Brighton v Chelsea kicks off at 8:00pm and will be broadcast on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League. It can also be streamed via Sky Go.
Via Now TV, Sky Sports costs £14.99 for a day membership, £28 a month for a 12-month membership or £34.99 a month with no contract.
Sky Sports memberships include access to all 12 live Sky Sports channels and Sky Sports+, which offers live streams and a dedicated channel.
Stats for Brighton v Chelsea
- Brighton have won their last two league games against Chelsea, as many times as they had in their first 19 versus the Blues (D4 L13).
- Having been unbeaten in their first five Premier League away games against Brighton (W3 D2), Chelsea have now lost two of their last three visits to the Amex Stadium (W1).
- Since the start of 2022-23, Brighton have scored at least two goals in six of their seven league games against Chelsea, netting 17 times in total (2.4 per game). Between 1983-84 and 2021- 22, they never scored more than once in 14 league games against Chelsea, netting just six goals in that time (0.4 per game).
- Chelsea have lost two of their last four Premier League games when scoring first against Brighton, including in the reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge. The only two occasions that the Blues have scored first and lost both games versus a team in one Premier League season were in 1992-93 vs Norwich and 2009-10 vs Manchester City.
- Brighton’s last nine home Premier League matches have averaged just 1.8 goals per game, with 16 goals scored by the Seagulls (9) and their opponents (7). In their first seven home games in 2025-26, the average goals-per-game at the Amex was twice as high at 3.6 goals per game, with 25 goals scored.
- Since a run of four clean sheets in five away Premier League games between October and December, Chelsea have gone eight successive matches without one on the road.
- Brighton boss Hurzeler has never lost a Premier League match against an English manager in nine meetings (W7 D2), unbeaten against Sean Dyche, Eddie Howe, Gary O’Neil, Graham Potter, and Scott Parker. Only Luiz Felipe Scolari has managed more times against Englishmen in the competition without losing (11).
- Danny Welbeck has been involved in seven goals in eight Premier League appearances against Chelsea for Brighton (5 goals, 2 assists). In his 10 appearances against the Blues before that for Sunderland, United, Arsenal, and Watford, he only scored one goal and had no assists.
- Cole Palmer has five goals in his last three Premier League appearances against Brighton, with four of those coming in one game at Stamford Bridge in September 2024. He’s had 16 shots in his last three games against the Seagulls, making up 43 per cent of Chelsea’s total attempts in those matches.
Prediction for Brighton v Chelsea
Chelsea’s league season is petering out and they would be forgiven for thinking more about Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final. Still, they created chances against Manchester United, and can stop the rot against a Brighton side that was far from convincing against Spurs.
Prediction: Brighton 1-1 Chelsea
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