Chelsea v Brighton predictions: Tuchel's men can grind out important win

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Chelsea v Brighton in the Premier League on Tuesday.

Where to watch

Sky Sports Main Event & Sky Sports Premier League, 8pm Tuesday

Best bets

Chelsea to win 1-0
1pt 6-1 bet365

Chelsea to win 2-0
1pt 13-2 bet365

Team news

Chelsea
Mateo Kovacic remains sidelined but Andreas Christensen returns to the squad. Veteran Thiago Silva will be assessed.

Brighton
Solly March and Tariq Lamptey are sidelined but Aaron Connolly and Percy Tau should be available.

Match preview

It has been a glorious few days for Chelsea in cup competitions and the Blues should maintain their high standards at home to Brighton in the Premier League.

The revelation that six English clubs, including Chelsea, have agreed to join a new European Super League means there is huge uncertainty over the race for Champions League qualification via a top-four finish.

On the pitch, though, Thomas Tuchel's men sealed their place in the Champions League semi-finals last Tuesday before ending Manchester City's hopes of winning the quadruple in Saturday's FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.

Hakim Ziyech's second-half goal was enough to see off the Citizens and it could be a similar story against a Brighton side whose lack of cutting edge has held them back all season.

The Seagulls will have enjoyed Eddie Nketiah's late equaliser for Arsenal against Fulham on Sunday as that result leaves them six points above the relegation zone with two games in hand on the Cottagers.

Graham Potter's men have taken seven points from their last four matches, thanks to wins over Southampton and Newcastle, a 2-1 defeat to Manchester United and a goalless draw with Everton, and that run has significantly eased their fears of the drop.

Judging on the relegation betting, Brighton should never have felt too concerned as their xG stats convinced bookmakers that they were far too good to go down.

Even so, the improved form of Fulham and Newcastle, coupled with some smash-and-grab raids from some of the Seagulls' opponents, meant Potter and his players desperately needed to start putting points on the board.

Despite Brighton's lowly league position, Chelsea know they cannot take things easy against opponents who have won at Liverpool, beaten Tottenham at home, and competed well in one-goal defeats to Manchester City and United (twice).

But the combination of Chelsea's miserly defence and a Brighton attacking unit whose chance conversion rate remains disappointing points to a low-scoring home win.

Potter was pleased with the performance in Brighton's 0-0 draw with Everton last time out although he admitted that his side "missed the last pass of that bit of quality in the final third".

That could be the epitaph to the Seagulls' campaign and unless they suddenly discover a ruthless streak they may struggle to lay a glove on the Chelsea defence.

They went toe to toe with Frank Lampard's Blues in an entertaining 3-1 home defeat on the opening weekend of the season but can expect fewer chances against Tuchel's side.

The clean sheet in the cup semi-final against City was the latest impressive defensive performance from Chelsea since the German succeeded Lampard.

They shut out Atletico Madrid over two legs of the Champions League last-16 tie and Porto's only goal in the quarter-final was a stunning overhead kick from Mehdi Taremi late in the second leg.

Chelsea's forwards have looked slicker in recent weeks, with Timo Werner and Ziyech combining for the winner against City and Kai Havertz, Mason Mount and Christian Pulisic impressing in the 4-1 win at Crystal Palace, and they are unlikely to be brought down to earth by Brighton.

Key stat

Sixteen of Chelsea's 19 games under Thomas Tuchel have featured under 2.5 goals.

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