Chelsea fell at Manchester City on Saturday, 1-0, and in doing so they saw their Premier League title dreams dashed. Now they’re not even the side closest to Manchester City in the table, as Liverpool (even with a game in hand) have surpassed the Blues.
Now it’s time to shift the focus to the top four instead, with “the rest of the season” beginning with a trip to surprisingly solid Brighton & Hove Albion.
Chelsea at Brighton FYIs
Kickoff: Tue, Jan 18, Falmer Stadium
Chelsea Starting XI Prediction: go here
Premier League podcast: go here
Premier League Form: Chelsea LDDWD Brighton DWDWL
Premier League Position: Chelsea 3rd, 43 pts Brighton 9th, 28 pts
Google Result Probability: Chelsea 55% Brighton 26% Draw 19%
Key Stat: Brighton have never led in any of their nine Premier League meetings with Chelsea.
Chelsea Team News
Central defender Andreas Christensen missed out on the loss at Manchester City due to covid-19 isolation protocol, and he’ll remain out for this one. Also remaining out for this one are Trevoh Chalobah (thigh) and Reece James (hamstring).
While this pair of players will be returning to action at some point this season, defender Ben Chilwell will not (knee surgery). Finally, Edouard Mendy will be missing, as he’s playing for Senegal at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Prediction: Chelsea 2, Brighton 0
In 13 league meetings, Chelsea (W10 D3) have never lost to Brighton. It’s the highest number of matches that Chelsea have ever played against a single opponent in league play, and gone undefeated. We just don’t see that changing here.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Bank (TheSportsBank.Net) and author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” as well as “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune, and co-hosts the After Extra Time podcast. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.