Game Week 14 Predictions: Chelsea and Brighton to share points?

Brighton aims to repeat last season's upset against struggling Chelsea.

Cole Palmer and Evan Ferguson both have it all to do as they square up against each other on Sunday; who will come out tops? (Photo credit: GOAL)

 Chelsea vs. Brighton

Stamford Bridge Stadium

3:00pm

Separated by four places and six points, Brighton and Hove Albion will travel to Chelsea with a repeat of last season’s big result on the cards. It’s not impossible, is it?

Brighton secured a round of 16 tickets in the Europa League with their 1-0 win away at AEK Athens on Thursday, but they would need to win their final day game in the group to guarantee the top spot and, consequently, avoid a pair of extra fixtures in February.

Chelsea, on the other hand, has absolutely nothing to worry about on the continental front. They’re not going to win the Premier League, and unless a miracle happens on their part and contenders fall off epically, a top-four finish is arguably out of reach already.

Sitting in 11^th on the log, ten points off Tottenham in 6th, and twelve off Aston Villa in fourth at this stage of the season is embarrassing for an expensively assembled side like Chelsea, but they can accept reality and start the rebuild from within, without pressure.

Chelsea has two wins in their last five games in all competitions but just one win in the league in that run; beating Tottenham 4-1 at the Tottenham Stadium papered the cracks a bit, but they’d like to tell people they played a healthy chunk of the game against nine men.

Brighton has injury worries, and their legendary captain will sit out this fixture after his red card in their 3-2 win at Forest last weekend. Roberto Di Zerbi raced to the pitch to celebrate the win after league struggles; they needed a result at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea can hand an official debut to Chris Nkunku; he’s available for selection, but Mauricio Pochettino would like to play things cool and ease him in. Romeo Lavia is another player we could see on Sunday, but the gaffer would make his decision late on.

The Blues will be without Reece James after his disappointing second yellow card against Newcastle, and Marc Cucurella will not be able to face his former team after he picked up his fifth yellow card of the season in the same game.

Brighton’s injury list and suspensions are alarming, but they have enough to prosecute the trip to Stamford Bridge. It’s a game that will excite everyone, apart from those on either side of the divide. Robert Sanchez against his old side; let’s have some fun.

Verdict: Both teams score