PREVIEW | Chelsea vs Brighton & Hove Albion - team news, lineups, predictions | OneFootball

Chelsea and Brighton & Hove Albion go head-to-head at Stamford Bridge this Saturday in the Premier League.

Enzo Maresca's world champions enter the clash on the back of an underwhelming draw at Brentford and a nightmare 2-0 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford last weekend. However, the Blues are still sixth in the top flight and will be keen to right the wrongs of their recent league form after a 1-2 win over League One Lincoln in the Carabao Cup midweek.

Brighton, meanwhile, will want to shrug off their own indifferent start to the 2025/26 Premier League campaign against a Chelsea side that is likely to feature former Seagulls Robert Sanchez, Moises Caicedo, Marc Cucurella and João Pedro in its starting lineup. Last time out, Fabian Hürzeler's team triumphed 0-6 against Barnsley in the Carabao Cup, Brighton already netting a dozen goals in the League Cup this term.

The last meeting between the two teams ended in a 3-0 Brighton win.

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Stephen Gillett (Playmakerstats): They may be world champions, but huge questions remain regarding Chelsea's capacity to mount a serious challenge at the top of the Premier League.  The ongoing debate regarding goalkeeper Robert Sanchez was only fuelled by the Spaniard's early sending off in defeat to Man Utd last weekend, and the news that Cole Palmer is likely to miss a handful of games only ramps up the pressure on the rest of Enzo Maresca's expensively-assembled squad.  On the bright side, Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez are arguably the strongest central midfield duo in the top flight, and the stability and creativity they provide will be key against a Brighton side also looking to discover its best form.  João Pedro's first game for his new side against his old one will offer a fascinating sub-plot - and it would be no surprise to see the Brazilian's name on the scoresheet for Chelsea given the punishment he dished out to another former club Fluminense at the Club World Cup.

Prediction: 2-1

Joe Sayers (Albion Obsessed): Dubbed “friends reunited” by Chelsea’s social media team, there are many reasons why the Albion should be getting themselves pumped up to go out and cause a bit of an upset at Stamford Bridge.

The start of the season has been underwhelming to say the least, especially on the back of ending last season in such a strong way. An all too familiar trend reared its ugly head again as we failed to hold on to a 2-0 lead at home against Spurs.

Our slump in form has coincided with a drop off from our midfield anchor, Carlos Baleba. It seems strong links to Manchester United and a stop-start pre-season have weighed heavy on the Cameroonian international, but we need him to shake it off soon. A successful season for us is hugely reliant on a successful season from Carlos Baleba.

We seem to enjoy playing clubs who want to come out and play us, so I fancy my chances going into this one. I feel we need to get under Joao Pedro’s skin, and after he had a bust up with Jan Paul van Hecke at the end of last season, our Flying Dutchman could be key to that.

Prediction: 1-2

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Chelsea

Brighton & Hove Albion

Last starting XIs

Chelsea ( vs Lincoln City 2025-09-23): Filip Jorgensen, Malo Gusto, Trevoh Chalobah, Wesley Fofana, Jorrel Hato, Andrey Santos, Enzo Fernández, Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, Facundo Buonanotte, Alejandro Garnacho, Tyrique George

Brighton & Hove Albion ( vs Barnsley 2025-09-23): Jason Steele, Ferdi Kadioglu, Olivier Boscagli, Diego Coppola, Joel Veltman, Carlos Baleba, James Milner, Diego Gómez, Danny Welbeck, Tom Watson, Stéfanos Tzímas

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