Brighton vs Chelsea Prediction & Betting Tips - Premier League

Prediction published on 11/09/2020, 06:42  by James | Modified on 11/09/2020 at 07:42 in Premier League Predictions

Chelsea begin their Premier League campaign with a trip to the Amex to take on Brighton this Monday. The Blues finished fourth in Frank Lampard's first season as coach, their former midfielder also leading them to an FA Cup final. Brighton placed 15th in the league under the tutelage of Graham Potter, who got a first full season in charge of the Seagulls under his belt. Both sets of fans enter the season in optimistic moods, buoyed by the foundations of each coach's early work. This fixture ended 1-1 last season (and a recent pre-season friendly between the sides bore the same scoreline). Chelsea are unbeaten in seven matches against Brighton and will be aiming to eradicate the dodgy away form which crept in towards the end of last season. Only three teams had better away records than Chelsea last season but the Blues lost three of their last four away matches. This was primarily down to their leaky defence, no other team conceding more away goals than Chelsea (38 in 19 matches). While Chelsea have invested heavily over the off-season - spending around £200m so far - the key position that needs improvement is goalkeeper. They are currently working on signing a replacement for Kepa but the Spaniard is in contention to start this match. 

Brighton were not as strong at home as Potter would have liked, failing to win 14 of their 19 games at the Amex. They lost three of their last five home games, but they were against three of the top four teams in the division. Brighton's transfer activity has been underwhelming when compared with Chelsea but (perhaps Aaron Mooy aside) they haven't lost any key players. They have brought in funds for players like Anthony Knockaert and, most importantly of all, have tied down the sought-after centre-half Ben White to a long-term deal. His first task after a successful loan spell at Leeds will be stopping Timo Werner and Kai Havertz. Chelsea have incredible attacking talents, yet there is an imbalance in the team which may require time to settle. Chelsea's last seven away league matches have featured at least three goals. Back this one to also feature over 2.5 goals.