Fresh from knocking Manchester City out of the FA Cup, Chelsea return to Premier League action on Tuesday, with Brighton & Hove Albion visiting Stamford Bridge.
Both sides still have plenty to play for the season, meaning the result of this match is set to have big implications at both ends of the table.
Want some #CHEMCI highlights? Here you go! 🤝 pic.twitter.com/zjdZ1z7kVN— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) April 18, 2021
Want some #CHEMCI highlights? Here you go! 🤝 pic.twitter.com/zjdZ1z7kVN
Sitting just one point behind fourth-place West Ham, fifth-place Chelsea will be aiming to break back into the Champions League spots.
At the other end of the standings, sixteenth-place Brighton sit just six points clear of the bottom three and will be hoping to steer further clear of the relegation zone.
The Blues only saw 44% possession and faced 11 shots against Man City on Sunday, yet they managed to beat Pep Guardiola’s side 1-0, thanks to a second-half strike from Hakim Ziyech.
Having also seen off Porto last week, Chelsea booked their place in the semi-finals of the Champions League.
Chelsea have only lost three of their previous 21 home games in the Premier League and are averaging 1.96 goals per game at Stamford Bridge this season.
The Blues have also lost just two of their 19 matches under Thomas Tuchel, suffering a shock loss to West Brom and a defeat to Porto.
Better still, Chelsea have kept a whopping 14 clean sheets in 19 games since Tuchel replaced Frank Lampard.
On the flip side, Brighton head into Tuesday’s clash on the back of a goalless draw against Everton last weekend.
Having beaten Southampton and Newcastle last month, the Seagulls have only lost one of their previous four Premier League games, losing to Manchester United earlier in the month.
However, it is worth pointing out that Brighton have only managed to win seven of their 31 league matches this term, recording 12 draws and 12 losses along the way.
The Seagulls have the best defensive record in the bottom eight, having conceded 38 goals in 31 games this season.
Head-to-head: Chelsea beat Brighton 3-1 on the opening day of the season, with Jorginho, Reece James and Kurt Zouma scoring for the Blues, while Leandro Trossard netted for the Seagulls.
Chelsea are unbeaten in their last seven Premier League meetings with Brighton, picking up six wins and one draw in the process.
Team news: Chelsea have three injury doubts at the moment – Mateo Kovacic, Andreas Christensen and Thiago Silva.
Brighton currently have Tariq Lamptey and Solly March sidelined, while Florin Andone, Aaron Connolly and Percy Tau are all struggling for fitness.
Brighton have improved in recent weeks, but there is absolutely no denying that Chelsea are likely to win this game without any real problems.
Forebet predicts that Chelsea will score over 2.5 goals en route to beating Brighton again, although the Seagulls could also get on the scoresheet.