Chelsea visit Premier League newcomers Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday at the Amex Stadium and managers of both the sides have revealed the lineups for the first game of Matchday 24.
Here’s how Albion line up against @ChelseaFC at the Amex this afternoon.#BHAFC 🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/8Fbxc5U1Zq
— Brighton & Hove Albion ⚽️ (@OfficialBHAFC) January 20, 2018
Brighton, 16th in the league table, haven’t been on the greatest of runs of late and their manager Chris Hughton has sent them out in a 3-5-2 formation.
Mathew Ryan starts in goal, behind a back-three of Connor Goldson, Shane Duffy and Lewis Dunk while Dale Stephens features alongside Markus Suttner and Davy Propper in midfield.
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Ezequiel Schelotto and Solly March are the hosts’ widemen, while Pascal Gross plays just off Israeli striker Tomer Hemed.
Chelsea team: Caballero; Azpilicueta (c), Christensen, Rudiger; Moses, Bakayoko, Kante, Alonso; Willian, Batshuayi, Hazard. #BRICHE pic.twitter.com/xnsUA23K1o
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 20, 2018
Chelsea, who slipped to 4th place last week, have been forced to make a change in goal with Thibaut Courtois unavailable and Willy Caballero starts in his stead.
Cesar Azpilicutea, Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger feature in a three-man defence with N’Golo Kante and Tiemoue Bakayoko start in the midfield pivot with Marcos Alonso and Victor Moses operating on the wings.
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Eden Hazard and Willian start up front, just behind Michy Batshuayi, who gets the nod with Alvaro Morata suspended. New signing Ross Barkley is in the squad and could feature in the second-half.
It’s a must-win game for Chelsea, as not only are their title hopes on the brink but they are in danger of slipping out of the top-four. Another draw will be far from ideal and the defending champions will have to grind out a win.
Brighton will not make life easy for the visitors and with a relegation dog-fight on the horizon, will not give an inch as they seek a valuable point, or even three, if possible.
Brighton & Hove Albion: Ryan, Schelotto, Duffy, Goldson, Dunk, Suttner, Propper, Stephens, March, Gross and Hemed.
Chelsea: Caballero, Azpilicueta (c), Christensen, Rudiger, Moses, Bakayoko, Kante, Alonso, Willian, Batshuayi and Hazard.
Match kicks off at 12.30 GMT/1800 IST.