Saturday 20th January 2018

Brighton v Chelsea 12:30, Sky Sports

 

The Premier League action gets going this weekend with a Saturday lunchtime clash that sees Chelsea having a day out at the seaside to face Brighton.

Being the first game on then this will give Chelsea the chance to put some pressure on the other sides in the race for a ‘top four’ finish, but as things stand the Blues head into week 24 in fourth with 47 points. Chelsea are as short as 1.22 to finish in the top 4.

That points tally is, however the same as Liverpool in third so a win (or a draw) here will see Conti’s men leapfrog the Merseysiders for a few days at least – Liverpool make the trip to Swansea on Monday night.

Brighton have their own issues at the foot of the table and head into the game having not won in the league in their last four. The Seagulls are now down to 16th after a decent start, with 23 points, and are in danger of getting really dragged into the relegation dogfight unless they turn things around quickly.

The sides met at Stamford Bridge earlier this season, with that game ending up a comfortable 2-0 home win for Chelsea, while being that Brighton are new to the English top-flight then the last time they met in a repeat of this fixture was way back in 1989 – that ended, Brighton 0-1 Chelsea.

The match betting suggests three points for the Londoners as Chelsea are on offer at 1.45, with the Draw 4.20 and Brighton 7.50 – at that price the Blues are sure to figure in many weekend accumulators as punters look to get their bets off and running in the early match.

In total the sides have only met 9 times, with Chelsea winning 7 of those, with 1 draw and just the one victory for Brighton…………………….and that came in 1933!

The Seagulls have actually only scored one goal in their last six against Chelsea and with Conti’s side having kept a clean sheet in 5 of their last 6 league games then it could be more of the same here.  You can back a Chelsea clean sheet at 1.83.

Other options that catch the eye are that both teams DIDN’T score in 7 of Brighton’s last 8 league games and this is backed-up with 6 of the last 7 head-to-heads – albeit over a long period of time – also going this way. In fact, both teams have also NOT scored in 5 of Chelsea’s last 6 games so at 1.61 the stats back-up this could still be fair value despite being odds-on.

Finally, if you fancy a dabble in the scorers markets then Chelsea’s Morata, with 10 league goals, is their main man, and he also netted against Brighton back in their 2-0 home win on Boxing Day.
Looking at the Brighton team then Glenn Murray has been their best league scorer this season with 6 goals, so is sure to be popular for those that fancy the home side to find the back of the net.

 

Best Bet: BOTH TEAMS ‘NOT’ TO SCORE @1.61

 

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Saturday 20th January 2018

Brighton v Chelsea 12:30, Sky Sports

  • Already played this season, Chelsea 2-0 Brighton
  • Last repeat fixture (1989), Old Div 2, Brighton 0-1 Chelsea
  • Played 9 times before (all comps), Brighton 1, Draw 1, Chelsea 7
  • 5 of the last 6 head-to-heads went UNDER 2.5 GOALS
  • Brighton have scored just 1 goal in their last 6 vs Chelsea
  • Both teams DIDN’T score in 6 of the last 7 head-to-heads
  • Both teams DIDN’T score in 5 of Chelsea’s last 6 league games
  • Brighton have not won in their last 4 league games
  • Both teams DIDN’T score in 7 of Brighton’s last 8 league games
  • Chelsea have kept a clean sheet in 5 of their last 6 league games
  • Morata is Chelsea’s top league scorer this season (10 goals)
  • Murray is Brighton’s top league scorer this season (6 goals)