Brighton vs Chelsea predictions: Blues to heap more misery on Albion
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- Brighton were thrashed 7-0 at Nottingham Forest last Saturday
- Chelsea moved into the top four after beating West Ham 2-1
- Recommended bet: Chelsea to win
Chelsea face an Amex Stadium double-header this week as they first take on Brighton in the fourth round of the FA Cup and then face the same opponents in the Premier League next weekend.
Albion must lift themselves after being battered at Forest last weekend, but the visitors are not in the richest of form themselves and have not won away from Stamford Bridge since before Christmas.
Team news
Brighton are suffering with injuries, with central midfield pairing of Yasin Ayari and Carlos Baleba, plus full-back Pervis Estupinan, all major doubts.
Also out are Mats Wieffer, Solly March, James Milner, Ferdi Kadioglu and Igor Julio.
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has fewer options than usual with a handful of players departing the Bridge and injuries to Benoit Badiashile, Wesley Fofana and Romeo Lavia, while Mykhailo Mudryk is still banned.
Christopher Nkunku could lead the line with Nicolas Jackson having limped out of Monday's 2-1 league win over West Ham.
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The stats
Brighton have failed to win any of their last five home games, while Chelsea have not won any of their last four away.
The Seagulls have won just three of their last 13 games in all competitions.
The Blues have won their last four competitive meetings with Albion and the last three clashes have yielded a total of 14 goals.
Prediction
Brighton have had a week to get over their 7-0 battering at the City Ground against Forest, though the scars could take a while longer than that to heal.
Fabian Hurzeler's men were taken apart by a rampant Forest and are struggling with just three wins recorded since the end of November, all against teams below them in the Premier League standings.
Now they must brace themselves for a visit from fourth-placed Chelsea, who are also going well in the UEFA Conference League this season and who will want to make a charge at the FA Cup, too.
Hurzeler is still missing a glut of first-team stars, which almost certainly means a makeshift midfield trying to keep Maresca's men at bay.
Chelsea's form is nothing to write home about at the moment – three wins in nine, one of which was against League Two strugglers Morecambe in round three of the FA Cup.
However, they do have nine away wins domestically and in Europe this season and, despite one or two knocks themselves, allied to a few transfer-window exits, Maresca can still send out a world-class starting line-up.
Albion boss Hurzeler does not have that luxury and a terrible fortnight for his side may well culminate in another reverse for the Seagulls.
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