Brighton & Hove Albion vs Chelsea 01/01/20

1 January 2020

The two sides encouraged by their respective last weekend’s Premier League (PL) successes go head-to-head at the Amex Stadium as Brighton & Hove Albion take on Chelsea.

The hosts have brought a four-game winless PL run to a halt last time out (D2, L2), securing a comfortable 2-0 home triumph over Bournemouth. It has been Brighton’s sixth win of the season and fourth that has come on home turf. Finding the opening goal could be vital in Brighton’s efforts to end Chelsea’s five-game winning run in PL H2Hs, as they’ve won four of five PL home fixtures that have seen them score the opener (W4, D1). Moreover, the Seagulls have scored two or more goals in five of their last seven PL home outings, finding the back of the net inside the first 45 minutes on four of those occasions. The one thing that can trouble Graham Potter is that his men have won only one of eight PL home games that have seen them fail to keep a clean sheet (W1, D3, L4).

A stunning comeback triumph over Arsenal a few days ago now means that none of Chelsea’s last 16 PL fixtures has ended in a stalemate (W10, L6), although five of those defeats have come in the previous eight league matches. Additionally, none of the Blues’ ten PL road trips has ended in a draw (W7, L3), with all of those results (win/loss) seeing the winners on the day score two or more goals. Surprisingly, Franck Lampard’s men have been far more convincing away from home so far this season, with 60% of their total PL points arriving on the road. What’s more, 68% of 35 league goals they’ve scored so far have come away from Stamford Bridge, with Chelsea netting over 1.5 match goals in seven of ten PL road trips. Their impressive away record could be extended here, as the Pensioners have won both of their previous top-flight away H2Hs with Brighton, scoring 2+ match goals on both of those occasions.