Two teams eager to improve on an underwhelming start to the 2025/26 season will face off at Stamford Bridge when Chelsea and Brighton & Hove Albion clash on Saturday.
The 2025/26 Premier League season resumes this weekend with Gameweek 6. The latest round of fixtures begins with the match between Brentford and Manchester United at the Gtech Community Stadium before continuing with four simultaneous games, including Chelsea vs Brighton & Hove Albion at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea seemed to have kicked off the season on a positive note after enjoying a three-game unbeaten run and sitting second in the Premier League standings heading into the international break. However, the three matches after that saw no victories, with Brentford holding the Blues to a 2-2 draw before they lost to Bayern Munich and Manchester United.
Chelsea finally returned to winning ways earlier this week in the EFL Cup third round, although Lincoln City gave Enzo Maresca’s men a run for their money before going down 2-1 in the midweek tie. On the other hand, Brighton & Hove Albion have been underwhelming thus far in the 2025/26 season.
While the Seagulls have clinched an impressive come-from-behind victory over Manchester City, that is their only win in the Premier League. So, the decision-makers would have put some pressure on Fabian Hurzeler to do better in the Premier League. However, they would be satisfied with Brighton’s performances in the EFL Cup, as they have clinched 6-0 wins in both rounds thus far.
The corresponding fixture last season saw Chelsea come from one down to beat Brighton & Hove Albion 4-2, with Cole Palmer scoring each of the goals for the West London club. The Hard Tackle looks closer at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
Chelsea
Enzo Maresca has received a mixed bag of updates on the team news front ahead of his side’s latest fixture. The Chelsea manager will be bereft of the services of nearly a dozen first-team players vs Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday.
Robert Sanchez is available after serving his suspension in the EFL Cup clash with Lincoln City earlier this week. However, Maresca has lost Tosin Adarabioyo (calf), Wesley Fofana (concussion), while Cole Palmer is sidelined for a few weeks due to the recurrence of a groin injury.
The trio accompanies Benoit Badiashile (unspecified), Levi Colwill (knee), Romeo Lavia (muscular), Dario Essugo (thigh), Liam Delap (hamstring), and Marc Guiu (thigh) in the treatment room. Meanwhile, Mykhailo Mudryk remains unavailable after failing a doping test several months ago. Additionally, Facundo Buonanotte is ineligible to take on his parent club.
Robert Sanchez will replace Filip Jorgensen between the sticks after the Danish international produced a nervy performance against Lincoln City. Chelsea will line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of the Spaniard vs Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday, with Reece James, Josh Acheampong, Trevoh Chalobah, and Marc Cucurella forming the backline.
As for the midfield unit, Moises Caicedo and Andrey Santos will pair up in the double pivot, with Enzo Fernandez reprising the no. 10 role. Estevao Willian and Pedro Neto will be the two wide attackers, with Alejandro Garnacho missing out after an underwhelming performance against Lincoln City. Finally, Joao Pedro will lead the line for Chelsea against Brighton on Saturday.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Sanchez; James, Acheampong, Chalobah, Cucurella; Caicedo, Andrey Santos; Estevao, Enzo Fernandez, Neto; Joao Pedro
Brighton & Hove Albion
Unlike his counterpart in the Chelsea dugout, Fabian Hurzeler has received a lot of good news ahead of the trip to Stamford Bridge. The Brighton & Hove Albion manager will be without only three first-team players on Saturday.
Maxim De Cuyper (knee), Brajan Gruda (knock), Mats Wieffer (knee), and Yankuba Minteh (lower back) are fit and available to take on Chelsea. However, Adam Webster (knee), Jack Hinshelwood (foot), and Solomon March (knee) remain in the treatment room.
Bart Verbruggen is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Brighton & Hove Albion lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him vs Chelsea on Saturday. The backline will feature Joel Veltman, Lewis Dunk, Jan Paul van Hecke, and Maxim De Cuyper.
As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Carlos Baleba and Yasin Ayari in the double pivot. Diego Gomez may have pipped Gruda to take up the no. 10 role, with Kaoru Mitoma and the fit-again Yankuba Minteh being the two wide attackers. Finally, Georginio Rutter will spearhead the Brighton attack against Chelsea this weekend.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Verbruggen; Veltman, Dunk, van Hecke, De Cuyper; Baleba, Ayari; Minteh, Diego Gomez, Mitoma; Rutter
Key Stats
- Chelsea have won nine and lost only one of their 12 previous home games vs Brighton & Hove Albion (D2), winning their three most recent meetings at Stamford Bridge since a 1-2 defeat in April 2023. Meanwhile, the Seagulls have won three of their last six Premier League matches against Chelsea (L3) after winning none of their first 14 (D4 L10).
- Chelsea have conceded twice in their two Premier League matches since the international break, as many as they had in their previous 15 games. The West London club last did that in three successive games between March and April 2024 (five).
- Brighton & Hove Albion have kept only one clean sheet in their 17 most recent Premier League matches, a 2-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers in May. Since the start of 2023/24, the only ever-present sides with fewer clean sheets than the Seagulls (14) are West Ham United and Wolverhampton Wanderers (13 each).
- Brighton & Hove Albion have drawn both Premier League matches when scoring first thus far this season (1-1 vs Fulham, 2-2 vs Tottenham Hotspur). The Seagulls are unbeaten in their last 16 games when netting the first goal, and 50 per cent of them have ended as stalemates (W8 D8).
- Chelsea are unbeaten in their 12 most recent home Premier League games (W9 D3), keeping seven clean sheets in their last nine at Stamford Bridge. They are looking for four successive home clean sheets for the first time since their first five under Thomas Tuchel between January and March 2021.
Player to Watch
Moises Caicedo
While Joao Pedro, Georginio Rutter, and Yankuba Minteh were viable candidates for this section, we have picked Moises Caicedo as the Player to Watch for Saturday’s Premier League clash between Chelsea and Brighton & Hove Albion at Stamford Bridge.
The Ecuadorian international has made the most tackles (21) and the most interceptions (15) of any player in the Premier League this season. The Chelsea midfielder has been responsible for 25.6 per cent of his team’s overall tackles (21/82), the highest ratio by a player in a season Opta has on record since 2006/07.
With the Blues missing their talismanic attacker, Cole Palmer, the onus will be on Caicedo to keep things tight in the middle of the park against his former club, as the margins will be razor-thin in Saturday’s Premier League clash at Stamford Bridge. Expect the 23-year-old to be Enzo Maresca’s go-to man in the middle of the park.
Prediction
Chelsea 1-1 Brighton & Hove Albion
As iterated earlier, the margins will be slim in Saturday’s Premier League clash between Chelsea and Brighton & Hove Albion. The two teams are struggling to contain their opponents; the Blues have not been at their defensive best since the international break, while the Seagulls have only one clean sheet in 17 Premier League matches.
Additionally, Cole Palmer’s absence means Chelsea will lack the creative spark in the final third. We might see a lot of wastefulness from both teams, and it will be difficult to separate them until the final whistle. The Hard Tackle predicts a 1-1 draw between Chelsea and Brighton, with Joao Pedro scoring against his former side to earn the hosts a point.