Brighton & Hove Albion vs Chelsea
The cheque book at Stamford Bridge hasn’t closed for weeks as head coach Frank Lampard has swept up as much talent as he could fit in his squad.
Yes, it’s been a phenomenal summer of spending for the Blues as owner Roman Abramovich seems to have rediscovered his passion for the club after playing legend Lampard did so well in his first season as boss. Now we have the chance to see what his new stars can do when Premier League: Brighton vs Chelsea is the big Monday night fixture.
It’s a clash we earmarked as a potential upset here at SBOTOP, and though the Brighton vs Chelsea betting odds back Lampard’s Blues to collect the three points, recent meetings suggest it’s going to be close. The two teams played out a 1-1 draw in a pre-season friendly recently; but that won’t be good enough for Chelsea when they meet in two days time.
Talking Points
How quickly will Lampard’s team gel?
He has recruited, arguably, the most exciting group of attacking players in the league, but football is a results game and Abramovich will want to see a return on his investment. Lampard’s men secured Champions League football and an FA Cup final last season, so the marker has been set.
Chelsea moved quickly in the transfer window to sign Red Bull Leipzig’s red hot striker Timo Werner and Ajax midfield man Hakim Ziyech, and they followed that up with the capture of Leicester City’s England wingback Ben Chilwell and PSG’s center back Thiago Silva. And then the signing of Kai Havertz took the total spend to over £200m. That figure is partially offset by the transfer of Eden Hazard to Real Madrid last season, but it is still a huge wedge.
Chelsea are at odds of 11.00 to win the title, third favourites behind Manchester City and Liverpool, and they won’t have much trouble scoring goals when you add two of the Bundesliga’s top scorers to Christian Pulisic who had an impressive debut season in 2019/20. The Blues were the third highest scorers in the Premier League last term with 69 goals, but they conceded 54, the most of any side in the top half of the table.
So the signings of Chilwell and Silva could prove to be pivotal to Chelsea’s chances. Chilwell is a fine attacking wingback but he reads the game well and is strong in the tackle, while Silva could solve Chelsea’s centre back problems, if he can stay fit.
Lampard’s biggest task is to integrate his new players while keeping his existing personnel happy. Pulisic became the main man in a brilliant second half to last season while youngsters Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham and Billy Gilmour all stepped up when asked.
Can Brighton avoid a relegation scrap?
Graham Potter’s Seagulls are at odds of 4.50 to go down in their fourth season in the top flight. The last two campaigns followed similar patterns with a bright start followed by a long winter and a relegation battle, successfully won, at the death.
But Brighton must find a way to avoid long winless streaks, a problem which has plagued them over the last couple of years. The break in football caused by the spread of COVID 19 did the Seagulls a favour as their last gasp win against Arsenal, in the first game after the resumption of play, was their first three points of 2020.
Eventually the Seagulls finished in their highest Premier League position, 15th, and now they will hope to make the next move towards mid table security.
With only 39 goals, Brighton were the fifth lowest scorers in the league and they owe much of their success to their centre back pairing. Skipper Lewis Dunk has been a mainstay in heart of the defence, missing just four games in three seasons in the Premier League, but this time he will be without his partner Shane Duffy who has headed to Celtic on a year long loan.
History
Chelsea have won five, drawn two and lost one of the meetings between these two sides, but the last two Brighton vs Chelsea results both finished 1-1.
Prior to the recent friendly, in which Werner opened his Chelsea account, the Premier League fixture finished in a 1-1 draw after Alireza Jahanbakhsh scored a spectacular overhead kick to equalise Cesar Azpilicueta’s opener for Chelsea. Dunk made the assist for that goal which handed the Seagulls a crucial point at a time when they were struggling badly.
The Seagulls have toiled at the Amex Stadium, winless in five, and the last time they beat Chelsea at home was in 2012.
Betting Tip
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Brighton & Hove Albion vs Chelsea | Total Goals 2-3 @ 1.96 |
| September 15, 03:15 (GMT+8) |
The Blues are backed to continue that trend and are at 1.62 to take all three points on Monday. Brighton are available at odds of 4.65 to win with the draw at 3.78.
I’m torn between a narrow Chelsea victory and a draw, so I’m going for a score tally of two or three goals in a well fought contest.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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 = €20 (Highly confident) |
= €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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