Chelsea did manage to overcome the obstacle of Norwich in the FA Cup, but they didn’t do so without sacrifices. They lost a couple of key players with red cards, and they will now miss on this match. Anyway, Chelsea will now return to Premier League duties, where they will be hosted by Brighton on Saturday. Brighton failed to extend their undefeated streak to four matches, when they fell to West Brom on the road.
Chelsea (14-4-5) are coming into this match after really struggling to overcome Championship side Norwich in the FA Cup. The two teams were tied at a goal-less draw in the first match, and they also played for a 1-1 draw in London. Chelsea eventually won in the penalty shootout, but they lost Pedro and Morata with red cards. Other than them, Ross Barkley, Gary Cahill and Cesc Fabregas are listed as questionable to participate. Chelsea might have been undefeated in over a month, but they have now played for five consecutive draws in their last five matches in all competitions. They are sitting at the 4th spot of the league table with 47 points, just as many as Liverpool. They have been really strong on the road so far in the season (6-2-3), where they have scored 20 goals, against 9 conceded. Moreover, they have only lost one of their last eight road matches in all competitions (3-1-4).
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On the other hand, Brighton (5-10-8) had made a really solid start in the season, but they have been struggling a lot lately. They are coming into this match after suffering a 0-2 loss on the road against West Brom, in a match where they didn’t deserve much more with just a single shot on target. They have not been in good form over the past couple of months, as they have won just two of their thirteen matches in that span (2-6-5). They are now sitting at the 16th spot of the Premier League with 23 points, just three points ahead of the relegation zone. They have been really hard to beat at home (3-2-6), where they have only lost to Liverpool and Manchester City. They will be coming into this match with just a single injury concern, as Sidwell has been ruled out.