Brighton and Hove Albion - Chelsea predictions and free betting tips [15/05/2024]

On Wednesday, 15th May, as part of the rescheduled 34th round of the Premier League, Brighton will host Chelsea on their home turf. Over the past weekend, the Blues claimed a hard-fought 2:3 victory over Nottingham Forest, while the Seagulls settled for a 1:1 draw with Newcastle and no longer have clear tournament motivation.

Stadium

The meeting will take place in Brighton at the Amex Stadium.

Brighton

Brighton has significantly slowed compared to last season, and the Seagulls are now sitting in 10th place in the Premier League table, falling short of the European Cup zone. In the recent weeks, Graham Potter's charges have seriously faded, and in the last eight rounds, they have managed just one win. After six matches without victories (2 draws and 4 losses), the Southerners managed to beat Aston Villa (1:0), and last weekend they drew against Newcastle (1:1).

Joël Veltman opened the scoring, but he was soon substituted due to injury; strangely enough, Newcastle managed to restore balance on the scoreboard towards the end of the half thanks to efforts on the right flank by Sean Longstaff. This Wednesday, the hosts have a chance to claim their second consecutive home victory for the first time since September last year. Overall, Brighton is only eighth in terms of points gathered at home: only 30 in 17 domestic matches with 29 goals scored and 23 conceded. 

Chelsea

Following yet another disappointing campaign, Chelsea still has chances of making it to the European Cup competition. Currently, the Londoners are in the 7th place in the Premier League table, having as many points as the 6th-seated Newcastle, and are 3 points behind Manchester United. After losing only once in the last 13 rounds, the Blues are gaining momentum. The victories in the last three matches - over Tottenham (2:0), West Ham (5:0) and Nottingham Forest (2:3) - have given confidence to Mauricio Pochettino's players.

Callum Hudson-Odoi put the Forest ahead after the exchange of goals by Mykhaylo Mudryk and Willy Boly, but a fine performance by Raheem Sterling and the 14th goal in the Premier League by Nicholas Jackson allowed the 'aristocrats' to take all three points from the City Ground. However, the 15-match streak without a clean sheet in away matches remains a problem for the London side's coaching staff. Furthermore, Chelsea is only 7th in terms of points gathered on the road (23 in 18 meetings, with 31 goals scored and 36 conceded). 

Head-to-Head

In the last season, the Londoners were routed at Amex with a score of 4:1, but the December confrontation at Stamford Bridge ended in Chelsea's victory (3:2).

Match Prediction: Brighton vs Chelsea

Chelsea performs slightly worse on the road this season than at Stamford Bridge, however, the Londoners are extremely motivated by the fight for the European Cup zone. Brighton, on the contrary, no longer have clear tournament motivation in the remaining rounds and have been stuck in a crisis for the last few weeks. Perhaps the packed injury list is playing a role, but De Zerbi himself is likely considering his future career plans. Nevertheless, I risk betting on the visitors’ victory.

Total Score Prediction

Chelsea has been unable to secure a clean sheet in 15 away matches in a row, whereas Brighton scores nearly two goals per game at home on average. My prediction is that both teams will score.

Corner Prediction

Both sides advocate a purely attacking style of football and won't shelter on their halves of the pitch – I bet on total corners over 9.5.

Yellow Card Prediction

The teams are not infamous for excessive rough play, hence it makes sense to bet on total yellow cards under 4.5.

Score Prediction

I'm placing a bet on an exact score of 2:3 in favor of Chelsea.