Chelsea vs Brighton: EPL Match Preview, Predicted Line-ups and Fantasy XI

The Blues will look to clinch the first win in Frank Lampard's second stint at the helm Chelsea vs Brighton & Hove Albion to Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

Match Details:

• Location: London, England
• Stadium: Stamford Bridge
• Date: Saturday 15 April
• Kick-off Time: 15:00 BST / 10:00 ET / 07:00
• Referee: Robert Jones
• VAR: Chris Kavanagh

Chelsea vs Brighton: Match Preview:

For Chelsea, 2022/23 has been an unprecedented season, with Frank Lampard the fourth manager in charge of the club. Thomas Tuchel bit the dust less than one month into the campaign, while Graham Potter left nearly two weeks ago.

Bruno Saltor was the interim boss for the game against Liverpool before Frank Lampard returned for a spell as the caretaker coach. However, Lampard's second stint has not started as well as he would have liked, with Chelsea losing both games thus far. And as the Blues' search for a new manager continues, they will hope to end the season strongly.

On the other hand, Brighton & Hove Albion have been on a roll thus far this season. They lost Potter when he joined Chelsea, replacing him with Roberto De Zerbi. And the Seagulls have improved considerably under the Italian tactician, whose stock has also risen as a result. They are seven points behind fifth-placed Tottenham, having played two games fewer than the North London club.

Brighton & Hove Albion blew Chelsea away in the reverse fixture, cruising to a 4-1 win at the Amex Stadium. The match featured two own goals, while Leandro Trossard and Pascal Gross found the back of the net for the Seagulls. Meanwhile, Kai Havertz netted the consolation striker.

Team News:

Chelsea:

Chelsea centre back Kalidou Koulibaly limped off in the 2-0 defeat to Real on Wednesday. If he fails to recover by Saturday, he'll likely be replaced by a midfielder should Frank Lampard revert to a back four formation.

Carney Chukwuemeka has picked up a knock and needs to be assessed, while Armando Broja remains a long-term absentee. Ben Chilwell is available for Premier League duty after his red card in midweek, but Marc Cucurella could start ahead of the England international.

Brighton:

Levi Colwill is unable to face parent club Chelsea, so Adam Webster will partner Lewis Dunk in central defence for the Seagulls. Evan Ferguson could replace Danny Welbeck up front but the starting XI will be largely similar to the one that was narrowly beaten at Tottenham last time out.

Jakub Moder is getting closer to returning from a long-term knee injury but is unlikely to feature at Stamford Bridge. Adam Lallana and Jeremy Sarmiento are also ruled out.

Brighton are still waiting to find out whether manager Roberto De Zerbi will be handed a second touchline ban of the season after getting sent off at Spurs.

Chelsea vs Brighton: Head to Head:

• In 12 head-to-head encounters between the two sides, Chelsea have won six games, lost two and drawn four.
• German attacker Kai Havertz has eight goal contributions in 26 league starts for Chelsea this season.
• Left-back Ben Chilwell has four goal contributions in 11 league starts for Chelsea so far.
• Japanese winger Kaoru Mitoma has 11 goal contributions in 16 league starts for Brighton & Hove Albion this season.

Predicted Line-ups:

Chelsea predicted lineup (4-3-3): Arrizabalaga; James, Fofana, Silva, Cucurella; Gallagher, Fernandez, Kovacic; Sterling, Havertz, Felix.

Brighton predicted lineup (4-2-3-1): Steele; Veltman, Webster, Dunk, Estupinan; Gross, Caicedo; March, Mac Allister, Mitoma; Ferguson.

CHE vs BAH: Fantasy XI

Arrizabalaga, Fofana, Silva,Dunk, Estupinan, Gross, Caicedo, Fernandez, Mac Allister, Mitoma, Felix.