Round six of the Premier League season continues on Saturday as the campaign begins to take shape. Saturday afternoon will see several fixtures being played simultaneously with the match between Chelsea and Brighton being a part of that.
These are two sides with different ambitions, competing at different parts of the table but the goal will be to secure three points for both teams in this match.
At Stamford Bridge, Enzo Maresca’s side will be seen as the favourites to win the match and will have to impose themselves from the start of the game with their style of play. The early season goal for the Blues will be finding consistency and making sure to find their best lineup before the season reaches its midway point.
The quality in this Chelsea team is quite obvious and they have the potential to get to the very top of the sport but they need to be able to put it all together sooner rather than later.
This is Enzo Maresca’s task as manager and he has to succeed where many have failed before him. Judging by last season, a sixth-placed finish in the league without silverware in the other competitions is an unacceptable outcome.
It’s a cutthroat situation the Italian has found himself in at Chelsea, especially when you consider that this is his first-ever Premier League season and first attempt at managing one of the biggest clubs in the world. The manager believes in the talent and potential of the team and he knows that a strong and cohesive culture throughout the club and among the players will be needed to draw out their full potential.
In his first interview with the club, he said: “One of the reasons I’m here is because I’m convinced the squad is very good and full of talent. The most important thing now is we’re able to create the right culture that drives us for the season.
“I always say the same: if you can improve players then you can improve the team. So it’s our target to try to improve all of them day by day.
“It’s the main point because when you join a club like Chelsea, you know that it’s a club that has to win. So for us, we are going to try our best to be there, to fight and compete with the clubs that in this moment are winning and fighting to win titles.”
Brighton, on the other hand, may not have the lofty ambitions that Chelsea do, but the away side on Saturday has big plans for themselves as well. After the blistering start to last season that saw them win five of their first six league games, the Seagulls were looked at by many as challengers for UEFA Champions League qualification, but they failed to meet those expectations. They ended the season in the bottom half of the League table in 11th place, with former manager Robert De Zerbi leaving the club.
Like Chelsea, they have stepped into a new era under their new manager Fabian Hürzeler and they will be hoping for a strong first season for the Swiss manager. The start to Brighton’s season has not been easy at all as they have already played matches against Arsenal and Manchester United, but they will see these tough games as a way to test themselves against the best early as well as figure out what works and what doesn’t against these teams.
The Seagulls will hope to get a result different from the 3-2 loss they suffered last season at the hands of Chelsea. Enzo Fernandez opened the scoring and Levi Colwill got their second goal just three minutes later for the Blues before Facundo Bounanotte pulled one back before the break.
Enzo Fernandez got his second goal of the game from the spot in the 65th minute of the second half before Joao Pedro’s goal two minutes into second-half stoppage time made it a nervy finish for the Blues. They were able to escape a penalty scare 11 minutes into stoppage time thanks to VAR and Brighton ended up losing a hard-fought contest.
Brighton will not want to lose and they will want to leave the Bridge with a positive result, even if it’s not all three points.
Match Tickets
Chelsea FC vs Brighton and Hove Albion tickets can be found online for fans looking to purchase. As usual, a sold-out crowd is expected at Stamford Bridge for their third home game of the new season. Chelsea fans will be up for the visit of the Seagulls and will be expecting their team to come away with all three points.
The game will be played at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, 28 September at 15:00. Fans in and around the United Kingdom where Sky Sports’ coverage reaches will be able to enjoy the game at that time.
The Premier League is broadcast to 212 total provinces in the world, which means that fans outside the United Kingdom have to tune in to one of the league’s broadcast partners in their province for the game.
Team News
Chelsea has the biggest first-team squad in the league and with that squad size comes the risk of unhappy players that do not make the squad. This may also cause the manager to rotate heavily but we expect Enzo Maresca to find a consistent lineup sooner rather than later.
For this match, they have a clean bill of health with the likes of Enzo Fernandez, Moses Caicedo, Nicholas Jackson, Cole Palmer and Reece James featuring in the starting lineup.
Brighton will also have the full complement of their squad to choose from and will look to put their best foot forward in terms of their starting 11.
Lineups
Chelsea will line up with a 4-3-3 with Cole Palmer and Noni Madueke playing either side of Nicholas Jackson up front.
Chelsea: Sanchez; James, Fofana, Colwill, Chilwell, Enzo, Caicedo, Dewsbury-Hall, Palmer, Madueke, Jackson.
Brighton will line up with Hürzeler ’s favoured 3-4-3 formation. Lewis Dunk will be tasked with leading the central defensive line with Evan Ferguson up front responsible for scoring the goals.
Brighton and Hove Albion: Verbruggen; Dunk, Webster, Weltman, Gross, Weiffer, Gilmour, Estupinan, Adingra, Mitoma, Fergurson.
Prediction
Chelsea will be aggressive from the start and will impose their style on their opponents. If Brighton are not careful, they may be in danger of playing this match on the back foot from the very beginning.
It is sure to be an entertaining game between two sides that play very expensive football and the game will most likely be won by the team who has the edge in transition situations.
Chelsea 3-2 Brighton and Hove Albion