Chelsea continue their FA Cup campaign as they head to American Express Stadium to face Brighton and Hove Albion in a fourth round clash. Brighton currently sit 10th in the Premier League table but are only 9 points behind the Blues despite a -3 goal difference.
Brighton have struggled recently and will be looking to bounce back after two successive defeats to Everton and a 7-0 thrashing by Nottingham Forest that followed a historic 3-1 win at Old Trafford over a struggling Manchester United side. Manager Fabian Hurzeler has backed his side to bounce back from that massive defeat and they will be raring to go against a Blues side that has been leaky at the back with 7 goals allowed in their last 4 matches.
Chelsea will be looking to keep the good vibes going after a comeback win over West Ham and hope to continue their recent run of form against Brighton. They have won 5 competitive matches in a row over the Seagulls with their last defeat coming in October 2022 in a 4-1 humbling at the Amex.
The match kicks off at 3PM eastern time in the United States and will be available live for ESPN+ subscribers as are all of the FA Cup matches in 2024-25.
How to watch Brighton vs Chelsea live and start time:
Kick off time: 3pm ET Saturday (February 8)
Venue: Amex Stadium
TV/Streaming: ESPN+ (United States), ITVX (Great Britain)
Team News
Brighton are dealing with injuries all over the squad and this match could not come at a worse time for the Seagulls. Their recent humiliation by Forest still leaves a sour taste in their mouths and they are without several key first team players.
OUT: Mats Wieffer (knock), Igor Julio (hamstring), Jason Steele (shoulder), James Milner (thigh), Ferdi Kadioglu (toe), Solly March (fitness)| QUESTIONABLE: Pervis Estupinan (undisclosed), Carlos Baleba (muscular), Yasin Ayari (muscular)
Chelsea are much more fortunate with only a few players ruled out completely with longer term injuries but Nico Jackson and Marc Guiu did pick up knocks against West Ham. We can expect to see some squad rotation from Enzo Maresca as he will look to get some disgruntled minutes after reshuffling the team during the January window.
OUT: Wesley Fofana (hamstring), Mykhailo Mudryk (suspension), Benoit Badiashile (thigh), Omari Kellyman (thigh), Romeo Lavia (thigh)
Prediction
As Chelsea have won 5 matches in a row including a 4-2 win in September that featured a stellar 4-goal performance from Cole Palmer we should expect more of the same on Saturday. Brighton are struggling with injuries and are ripe for the picking by a Chelsea side that should be feeling great after the comeback against West Ham. Chelsea cruise to a 3-0 win and move on to the next round of the FA Cup.