Murray, Jahanbakhsh set to return as Albion face Chelsea

Iranian international Alireza Jahanbakhsh is set to return for Brighton & Hove Albion as they face up against fourth-placed Chelsea in a clash which will undoubtedly unfold excitement as the festive football period continues.

Both sides will hope to get off to a good start as Brighton rarely lose at home – especially after they score first.

Chelsea head into the fixture off the back of a 2-0 home victory over Premier League champions Manchester City, ending their unbeaten start to the season. However, the two away games that were previous to this concluded in losses for the Blues, with a 2-1 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers and a 3-1 trouncing at Tottenham Hotspur.

N'Golo Kante celebrates after giving Chelsea 1-0 lead against City.

Manager Maurizio Sarri would have had to implement praise and motivation into his team talks this week as a failure to win on Sunday would heavily worsen Chelsea’s title challenge. With Manchester City winning on Saturday afternoon against Everton, the pressure is on for Sarri’s side to succeed, especially as Liverpool’s home fixture against Manchester United follows this fixture on the South Coast.

Hughton will have a lot of motivating to do himself as he will hope his players won’t be complacent in a match which is realistically going to be a tough challenge. He will also hope he can help his side to forget about the last time the two sides met at the Amex Stadium as Chelsea thumped Brighton by four-goals-to-nil on that day.

Eden Hazard scored a brace in a 4-0 win at the Amex last season.

Team News

One boost for the Brighton manager in terms of team selection which could benefit his chances of a success in Sunday’s fixture is the return of top scorer Glenn Murray who is back to full fitness after suffering a shoulder injury against Crystal Palace. The inclusion of Murray in the side will increase the amount of physicality available for Hughton in his selection, possibly making it harder for Chelsea to make a breakthrough. The manager will have a hard choice to make however, as dropping an in-form Florin Andone to fit Murray into the side could prove costly. Andone has used his pace to his advantage in recent matches, running with the ball, past defenders with ease and scoring at the end of his impressive dribbles, with two in his last three.

The home side will still be without Shane Duffy in defence as he serves the second of a three-match suspension, whilst José Izquierdo is a doubt to start the match following a knee problem.

Hughton stated in his pre-match press conference: “we know we have to start well. Chelsea reminded us of the levels of this league last season.”

He continued: “Our level of performance at the moment is good and I thought we were unfortunate not to get anything from last weekend. We have some tough matches coming up, you have to be in those games.”

Maurizio Sarri preferred to steer away from questions regarding Chelsea fans and racist remarks in his conference, instead placing his focus on Sunday’s fixture, and rightly so. He and previous manager Antonio Conte have instigated a brilliant depth into the squad and for good use, too, as four players will likely miss out on the match this weekend through injury.

Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarei speaks to the media.

Spaniard number-nine Alvaro Morata is still suffering with a knee injury and therefore is a doubt. Mateo Kovacic, Victor Moses and Gary Cahill are out of contention and haven’t travelled with the squad. This for sure leaves Sarri with less options but it shouldn’t impact his strategies too much as most would argue that Kovacic would have been the only contender for the starting eleven anyway.

Key Statistics

Heading into the fixture, Chelsea are the firm favourites as they look to continue an their impressive record against Brighton in league football (6 wins, 0 draws, 0 losses) which stands as the best record against a single opponent in their history.

Brighton have lost each of their last eight matches against Chelsea in all competitions, conceding a total of 18 goals and netting just once themselves.

If Brighton win on Sunday afternoon, it will be the first time since January 1933 that they end a match against Chelsea victorious.

Danger man Eden Hazard has provided four assists in his last three Premier League games and looks to achieve an assist in four consecutive games for the first time in his career.

Brighton have lost just one of their last ten home fixtures with the last loss at the Amex coming against Tottenham Hotspur earlier in the season.

If Chelsea win they would stay in fourth position in the table but they would place pressure upon the top three and if Brighton were to win they could move back into the top half.

My Prediction

Brighton have made the Amex Stadium their fortress in the Premier League, as proved by the fact they have only lost one of their last ten matches at home. As a result, I believe that the Seagulls will for sure put up a good fight against Chelsea. Albion did of course beat Manchester United on the South Coast earlier in the season, however, Chelsea are a different breed of opposition at current.

After a dominant 2-0 victory over Manchester City, the Blues will look to continue their fine form in the Premier League. It won't be easy for Brighton to say the least. With the likes of Eden Hazard and N'Golo Kante amongst their ranks, they will apply a lot of pressure on the Albion defence and I just think it will be too overwhelming for them.

I think Chelsea will win this one, but it won't be a trouncing. 2-1 Chelsea is my prediction.

What's your prediction for this match? Send me a DM on Instagram @bha_today