Chelsea visit the Amex Stadium to take on Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League on Tuesday.
Following their 3-1 reverse victory in September, the Seagulls are looking to complete their second-ever double against the Blues.
Match preview
Chelsea’s push for a Champions League spot took another hit after they fell to a narrow 1-0 defeat at home against Manchester United in their last outing.
A first-half strike from Matheus Cunha in the 43rd minute sealed the Blues’ fate, condemning them to a fourth consecutive league defeat.
Liam Rosenior’s side have lost five of their last six matches across all competitions, failing to score in each of those defeats. Their only bright spot was a 7-0 FA Cup thrashing of Port Vale.
With their league struggles continuing, the Blues will look to revive their season in the FA Cup when they meet Leeds United in the semi-final next Sunday.
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).
Georginio Rutter struck late at Tottenham Hotspur to salvage a point for Brighton in their 2-2 stalemate last time out.
The result reinforced Brighton’s push for Europe. They are aiming for a second-ever qualification after their breakthrough in 2023/24.
Brighton have won their last two league games against Chelsea, as many times as they had in their first 19 meetings (D4, L13).
Team news
Brighton’s Diego Gomez was forced off with a knee injury in the Spurs’ draw and is unavailable.
He joins James Milner, Adam Webster and Stefanos Tzimas on the sidelines. However, Lewis Dunk returns from a two-game suspension.
Chelsea will be without Reece James, Levi Colwill, Benoit Badiashile and Filip Jorgensen due to injuries, while Estevao was forced off with a hamstring injury in the defeat to United and is unavailable.
Enzo Fernandez was also withdrawn late on with a knock but is fit to face the Seagulls, while Joao Pedro will be assessed ahead of kick-off after he missed the Blues’ last outing.
Predicted line-ups
Brighton & Hove Albion (4-2-3-1): Verbruggen, Wieffer, Dunk, Van Hecke, Kadioglu, Gross, Ayari, Minteh, Rutter, De Cuyper, Welbeck.
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Sanchez, Gusto, Fofana, Hato, Cucurella, Caicedo, Santos, Fernandez, Palmer, Neto, Delap.
Prediction: Brighton & Hove Albion 1-1 Chelsea.
