Match Preview: Brighton v Chelsea
What is it about Brighton and lunchtime kick offs on New Year’s Day? In 2016, it was Wolverhampton Wanderers at home and James Wilson was throwing up on the pitch minutes before the start. In 2018, Plucky Little Bournemouth came to the Amex and stole a point. Again.
This time around, Chelsea are the visitors to Sussex. Not only is this a hangover-interfering kick off time, but it’s one that is for a fixture against a side that Brighton have never taken so much as a point from in a league game.
Nine previous fixtures, nine defeats. Two goals scored, 19 conceded. It makes for particularly grim reading even before you take into the account the 19 pints of strong continental lager still swishing through the system from the night before.
So yeah, cheers BT Sports.
A brief history of Chelsea
Chelsea were a pretty nondescript football club throughout the early part of their history who had a stronger reputation for what happened off the pitch with their fighting fans than what occurred on it. That was until 2003, when Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich rocked up in West London and began pouring his questionably-obtained wealth into the Blues.
The results have been stunning, with Abramovich’s roubles having paid for six league titles, five FA Cups, three League Cups, a Champions League and two Europa Leagues. There has also been no shortage of drama with Chelsea rattling through more managers than Jeremy Corbyn has lost elections.
Even those who delivered astonishing successes were gone within a year. A Champions League from Roberto Di Matteo? See ya. Thanks for the double Carlo Ancelotti but don’t let the door hit you on the way out. Jose Mourinho and Rafa Benitez? Two great rivals who both won silverware and were sacked shortly after. Antonio Conte? You’ve done well to deliver a league title and an FA Cup with an average squad, here’s your P45. A classy way to run a football club.
Chelsea this season
Mauirzio Sarri was the latest man to be thanked for his efforts in delivering a Europa League title with the sack in the summer. In his place has come Frank Lampard, a young manager who was clearly appointed for his playing achievements at Stamford Bridge rather than leading Derby County to sixth place in the Championship.
Lampard’s appointment hints at a belated change in approach at the Bridge. He’ll need time to learn as Chelsea manager, not least because the club began the season under a transfer embargo for thinking they were above the rules pertaining to signing young talent from across Europe.
The inability to sign players forced Lampard to chuck in many of the Blues’ talented, young English players who may otherwise have never got a chance. A lot of people thought that could lead to Chelsea falling away from the Champions League places, but in actual fact they’ve been a revelation this season.
Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori have all gone onto make competitive senior debuts for England and the Blues are on course to finish in the top four. Given the way in which Lampard’s hands have been tied, that would be a considerable achievement.
Head-to-head
We’ve already mentioned the fact that the Albion have never won a league game against Chelsea. In fact, we’ve only beaten them once outside of wartime football, an FA Cup third round success in 1933 delivered by goals from Arthur Attwood and Tug Wilson.
Brighton’s head-to-head record with Chelsea
Last six meetings
• Chelsea 2-0 Brighton (Premier League, 28/09/19)
• Chelsea 3-0 Brighton (Premier League, 03/04/19)
• Brighton 1-2 Chelsea (Premier League, 16/12/18)
• Brighton 0-4 Chelsea (Premier League, 20/01/18)
• Chelsea 2-0 Brighton (Premier League, 26/12/17)
• Brighton 0-1 Chelsea (Division Two, 15/03/89)
Solly March’s consolation when Chelsea came to the Amex last December is the only goal Brighton have managed against Chelsea in our past eight meetings.
If you’re looking for some straws to clutch, then you don’t need to go too far back. Only four days in fact. Plucky Little Bournemouth of course rocked up at the Amex having been unbeaten in their previous 10 meetings with the Albion.
Graham Potter wiped the smile off Smug Eddie Howe’s face. His next task will be to do it against Chelsea. Easier said than done of course, but that victory over the Cherries does at least give a little hope that miracles can happen.
Team news
As has so often been the case this season, predicting Potter’s starting line up is a task akin in difficulty to finding a way to time travel. Saturday’s win over Bournemouth clouded the waters even further as more fringe players like Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Yves Bissouma and Shane Duffy put themselves into contention with strong showings.
One thing we do know is that Potter will need to be a lot smarter tactically than he was at Stamford Bridge in September. The 3-4-3 used that day was pulled every which way by Chelsea in a game that could have ended with the hosts scoring four or five rather than the two they managed.
Chelsea’s key players
The young English trio of Mount, Abraham and Tomori have taken most of the headlines but American midfielder Christian Pulisic has been making a good impression since his £58m signing from Borussia Dortmund, notching four goals in 12 appearances.
The much-maligned Jorginho has also been enjoying himself this time around, including running the game against the Albion last time out. As the archetypal Sarri-player, Jorginho was one of the Chelsea boo boys favourites last season. Lampard wasn’t as quick to judge as The Shed End and as such, he’s become an important general in the new look Chelsea.
A good WeAreBrighton.com memory of Chelsea at home
Chelsea have won their two previous visits to the Amex and on both occasions, Eden Hazard was genuinely unplayable. Seeing a talent like Hazard do stuff that only a world class player can produce is one of the reasons that we’ve always wanted Brighton to reach the Premier League. It was a genuine honour to watch.
And speaking of world class talents, who can forget that game when Chelsea won 4-0 in January 2018 – but Ezequiel Schelotto looked like Cafu at right wing back? Hazard was the best player on the pitch that day, but the Greyhound wasn’t far behind. How the fuck did that happen?
A bad WeAreBrighton.com memory of Chelsea at home
It was that aforementioned Chelsea game in January that saw the debut of the “Hazard please can I have your shirt” sign at the Amex. Plastic and embarrassing.
Our favourite player to play for Brighton and Chelsea
You’ve got to admire the rise of Tomori. Who’d have thought when he was signing on loan for the Albion and scoring an own goal in a 3-1 FA Cup defeat to non-league Lincoln City on his debut that three years later he’d be a full England international and a Chelsea regular? It’s been quite the rise and it couldn’t have happened to a nicer bloke.
What we like about Chelsea
Made in Chelsea brought the lovely Georgia Toffolo into all our lives. The football club have also somehow got away with naming the disabled entrance at Stamford Bridge ‘The Spackman Entrance’ after former Blues’ player Nigel.
Prediction
Chelsea haven’t actually been in great form of late with home defeats to both Bournemouth and Southampton on their recent copybook. They’ve also had a days less rest having gone through a gruelling London Derby with Arsenal on Sunday. To put it simply, we probably won’t have a better chance of this than finally taking a point from them. 1-1.
