Saturday sees an all-Premier League affair in the FA Cup fourth round go under the spotlight as Brighton take on Chelsea.
Enzo Maresca’s Blues reclaimed their place in the top four on Monday after returning to winning ways against West Ham as they now face a Seagulls side who are licking their wounds after a 7-0 demolition by Nottingham Forest last weekend.
After a bright start to the season for manager Fabian Hurzeler, the 31-year-old is now under intense pressure from Brighton supporters after just two wins in their last 12 games, so the FA Cup may come as a welcome distration.
“It’s about showing a reaction and don’t talk too much about the last game,” Hurzeler said about their approach for Saturday’s game.
“Just work hard, give the fans the things they deserved. We we all apologised after the game, I apologised after the game for for this performance and I do it again.
“But now it’s about looking in the future, now it’s about sticking together.”
“I think criticism is important for for the development,” Hurzeler added. “But in the end we we can only achieve things together so we need the fans.
The Seagulls saw off Championship Norwich 4-0 in the previous round but face a much more difficult task against the Blues, who they have lost each of their last four meetings against, winning only one of the last 11 meetings in all competitions.
Their most recent was a 4-2 victory for Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in which Cole Palmer stole the show by scoring all four goals.
Brighton v Chelsea team news
Chelse are without both their strikers for the game the Amex with Nicolas Jackson and Marc Guiu limping off against West Ham.
Guiu is set for a lengthy spell out, with Jackson’s less serious, albeit he will miss the trip to the South Coast. Their absences should pave the way for Christopher Nkunku to be given a rare outing for the Blues.
Mykhailo Mudryk, Wesley Fofana, Omari Kellyman, Benoit Badiashile and Romeo Lavia all remain unavailable for selection, though the latter is stepping up his return according to Maresca.
Brighton are still without a number of players including Jason Steele, Igor Julio, Ferdi Kadioglu, James Milner and Solly March due to injury, while Mats Wieffer, Carlos Baleba, Yasin Ayari and Pervis Estupinan.
January signing Eiran Cashin is cleared to make his debut for the club following his move from Derby.
Brighton v Chelsea expected line-ups
Brighton: Verbruggen; Veltman, Dunk, Cashin, Lamptey; O’Riley, Hinshelwood; Adingra, Pedro, Mitoma; Welbeck
Chelsea: Jorgensen; Gusto, Chalobah, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez; Neto, Palmer, Sancho; Nkunku
Brighton vs Chelsea – The Stats
How to watch Brighton v Chelsea: Live stream, TV channel
The FA Cup match between Brighton and Chelsea kicks off at 8pm and will be shown live on ITV4 in the UK and streamed on ITVx.
Brighton v Chelsea Prediction
Hurzeler, and indeed the Brighton fans, will want a reaction from last weekend’s embarassment at the City Ground but Chelsea will still fancy their chances to score a few goals on the South Coast.
With just one win in eight at the Amex, we are backing Chelsea to get the win and seal their place in the FA Cup fifth round.
Brighton 1-3 Chelsea
