Chelsea and Brighton meet at Stamford Bridge with both clubs hoping their Carabao Cup wins can lead to an improvement in Premier League form.
Enzo Maresca's men snapped a three-game winless run with a narrow 2-1 comeback win at Lincoln City, but they are already seven points off leaders Liverpool and can not afford another slip-up here. They will be without Cole Palmer, who scored four in this fixture 12 months ago, but will hope Joao Pedro and Moises Caicedo can step up in his absence against their former side.
Brighton have just one win from their opening five league games albeit it did come against Manchester City. They threw away a two-goal lead at home to Spurs last weekend but bounced back with a second consecutive 6-0 win in the cup, this time at Barnsley. Diego Gomez hit a stunning four goals and is pushing for inclusion as Fabian Hurzeler's side look to move up the early table.
The Sporting News has a complete betting preview for this potential thriller.
Chelsea vs. Brighton: Who will win?
The last six games between these two sides have ended in three wins apiece, so it is a very hard one to call.
Chelsea without Palmer are a totally different proposition and have been largely unimpressive so far this season. Brighton usually step up against the bigger clubs and we think they'll do it again here to grab a point from the Bridge.
The Sporting News Score Prediction for Chelsea vs. Brighton
Chelsea 1-1 Brighton
MORE: Who will win Premier League | Relegation Odds | Sack Race | Golden Boot
Chelsea vs. Brighton Lineups
Here's how we think the two teams will lineup at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea predicted lineup vs. Brighton
(4-2-3-1, right to left)
Jorgensen (GK) — James, Chalobah, Fofana, Cucurella — Caicedo, Santos — Estevao, Fernandez, Neto — Pedro
Injured: Cole Palmer, Levi Colwill, Benoit Badashiele, Romeo Lavia, Liam Delap
Suspended: Mykhailo Mudryk
Brighton predicted lineup vs. Chelsea
(4-2-3-1, right to left)
Verbruggen (GK) — Pereira, Faes, Vestegard, Thomas — Baleba, Ayari — Minteh, Gomez, Mitoma — Rutter
Injured: Adam Webster
Suspended: None
Chelsea vs. Brighton Odds
Chelsea are favourites to win at 4/5 with Sky Bet, while Brighton are back at 3/1. The draw is 11/4.
Our 1-1 score prediction is at decent odds but here are some other potential scorelines.
| Result | Odds |
| Chelsea 1-0 | 10/1 |
| Brighton 1-0 | 16/1 |
| Chelsea 2-1 | 17/2 |
| Brighton 2-1 | 14/1 |
| 1-1 draw | 15/2 |
Chelsea vs. Brighton Team News
- The big absentee for Chelsea is Cole Palmer with their star man suffering a recurrence of a groin issue in the loss at Old Trafford. It is unclear when he will return.
- Robert Sanchez is back after his one-game ban but Maresca may stick with Filip Jorgensen over the shaky Spaniard, who had a horror show in this fixture last season.
- Facundo Buonanotte scored his first goal for Chelsea in the win at Lincoln but is unable to face his parent club here.
- Diego Gomez warrants a start up top after his stunning performance at Barnsley, and may come in for Brajan Gruda.
Chelsea vs. Brighton Bet Builder Tips
Our bet builder for this one is a draw, both teams to score, less than 2.5 goals and Brighton to have more shots. That is currently just under 50/1 with Bet365.
How to watch Chelsea vs. Brighton: Live stream, TV channel
- Date: Saturday, 27 September
- Venue: Stamford Bridge, London
- Time: 3:00 p.m. (BST)
- TV/Stream: not televised in the UK