Brighton & Hove Albion and Chelsea square off at the Amex Stadium to take their Premier League 2020-21 campaign underway.
Team Preview
Frank Lampard is back in the huddle to start the new season for Chelsea. The Blues knocked out Leicester City to claim the 4th spot in 2019-20 and seal the Champions League qualification for the next season. They also ended up as runner-up in FA Cup 2019-20 after losing to Arsenal in the final. Lampard is eyeing for the new signings as he needs a defender and a goalkeeper to complete the team’s requirement. Their new signings Kai Havertz and Timo Werner will be the key figures for Chelsea who were terrific in Bundesliga 2019-20.
Meanwhile, Brighton finished 15th in 2019-20, and Graham Potter’s side faces a tough task to perform better but they are underdogs on Monday night. The Seagulls aim to finish at the middle in the table after the new signings Joel Veltman and Adam Lallana. Lallana has played against Chelsea nine times and he didn’t score a single goal or provided any assistance. The long-term contracts with Lewis Dunk and Ben White are the positive signs for Brighton. Both sides faced each other in a pre-season friendly at the end of last month and played a 1-1 draw.
Team News & Possible Lineups
Brighton & Hove Albion
Potter is likely to go ahead with the formation of either 4-2-3-1 or line up with a back three.
Lineup: Ryan; Veltman, White, Dunk, Burn; Propper, Bissouma; Gross, Lallana, Trossard; Maupay
Chelsea
Christian Pulisic and Azpilicueta are fit and ready for the Monday games. The Blues will be without the services of Hakim Ziyech, Thiago Silva, and Ben Chilwell. Mateo Kovacic is serving a suspension, after receiving a red card in the FA CUP final.
Lineup: Caballero; James, Zouma, Rudiger, Alonso; Kante, Jorginho; Havertz, Mount, Hudson-Odoi; Werner
Key Players
Brighton
Leandro Trossard
5 goals in Premier League 2019-20
Neal Maupay
10 goals in Premier League 2019-20
Chelsea
Kai Havertz
12 goals in Bundesliga 2019-20
Timo Werner
4 goals in Champions League 2019-20
