Wednesday evening, at 19:45, Chelsea receives Brighton’s visit to a Premier League retirement, which counts for the 27th round. There are only a few rounds to play in the first English league and both bands are fighting hard for different goals. Florin Andone has muscle problems before the game on Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea is in 6th place (go-go 52-34) and draws for a place in the Top 4 with 60 points. The Londoners are on par with Arseanl and have a point behind Manchester United and Tottenham. On his own, Chelsea has only one failure in 15 stages (goal 29-10), while Brighton has only three successes in 15 staggered trips. Besides, it is well known that “seagulls” have much greater efficiency on AmEx Stadium, where Florin Andone’s team is very hard to beat. Brighton is on 15th place (goal 32-43), with only five points above the relegation line. Fighting in the basement is fiery, and Brighton, Southampton and Burnley are equal points (33).
Under the command of Maurizio Sarri, Chelsea was a team of contrasts this season, but has consistently depended on the achievements of Eden Hazard. On the whole, white-blues practice a very good possession game and Brighton will not have much of possession of the ball on this move. Last season, the “seagulls” lost the Southampton relegation derby on their own ground (0-1) and the pressure began to rise for the team coached by Chris Hughton. Prior to that match, Brighton won three consecutive wins, one of them in the English Cup (after extensions, score 3-2). In the championship, the souls have made success with Huddersfield (1-0) and Crystal Palace (2-1), but the goal is more difficult Wednesday night.
Chelsea comes after a very lucky victory on Cardiff City (2-1), where the Londoners were led by the 84th minute. Azpilicueta equalized from the offside to the hosts’ fury, Neil Warnock, and the young star Loftus-Cheek brought Sarri’s victory with a gap in overtime. Before this difficult game, Chelsea lost to Everton (0-2) and had a draw on Wolverhampton (1-1). The only joy in February was brought to qualifying in the UEFA Europa League quarterfinals after eliminating Dinamo Kiev (8-0 in general).
Chelsea set out on Brighton’s tour, scoring 2-1, winning more impressive than the score showed. In fact, Chelsea has been forced into all three official duels with Brighton over the last two years. The hosts can not rely on Ampadu and Zappacosta on Wednesday’s match, where Hazard, Pedro, and Higuain will run the attack on their favorites. Brighton does not know if it can count on injuries Andone and Gross, who are in recovery and missed the weekend stage.
PREDICTION: Over 2,5 goals @ 1,70
