Brighton vs Chelsea LIVE! Premier League match stream, latest ...
Brighton vs Chelsea - LIVE!
Chelsea can take another step towards European qualification as they make the trip to face Brighton tonight. The Blues have finally found some form in the closing weeks of the season, with three wins on the bounce, and another one here would take them to within three points of Tottenham in fifth heading into the final day of the season.
It’s a big night for those European places, with Newcastle taking on Manchester United at Old Trafford. Chelsea could find themselves in sixth later tonight, but it just as easily could be eighth. The injury situation is at last improving for Mauricio Pochettino, with Reece James among those available again after returning last time out against Nottingham Forest.
Brighton host Chelsea and Man United to round their season off, and they can effectively seal a top-half finish with victory over the Blues. The Seagulls have been fairly inconsistent, but only West Ham, Arsenal and Manchester City have beaten them at home. Follow all the action with Standard Sport’s LIVE blog below, featuring expert analysis from Nizaar Kinsella at the ground!
Kick-off: 7:45pm BST | Amex Stadium
How to watch: Not on TV in UK
Brighton team news: Welbeck available
Chelsea team news: James fit again
Standard Sport prediction
Pochettino deserves Chelsea backing18:15 , Matt Verri
The uncertainty around Mauricio Pochettino’s Chelsea future is beginning to look ridiculous, writes Nizaar Kinsella.
Pochettino remains in the dark over whether he will continue at Stamford Bridge next season, with Chelsea planning an end-of-season review that will ultimately determine his fate.
But he is quietly stringing together an impressive run of results and Chelsea must now keep him on.
Saturday’s spirited 3-2 comeback win at Nottingham Forest means the Blues are still in the hunt for Europa League qualification. Only Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool have won more points than Chelsea since Boxing Day, and only the Gunners have scored more goals in the last 13 matches.
Pochettino is showing what he can do when his players are fit and there are enough green shoots to suggest they are on the right path under him.
Read the full story here!
(AFP via Getty Images)
Stage is set!18:06 , Matt Verri
Brighton have arrived on a glorious evening on the South coast.
Boehly: Chelsea investing not spending17:59 , Matt Verri
Todd Boehly believes Chelsea’s transfer spend of more than £1billion is an “investment”, and that the majority of their signings have retained their value.
Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez, Mykhailo Mudryk and Cole Palmer are among the players brought in since Boehly and Clearlake took over at Chelsea from Roman Abramovich in May 2022.
The new consortium have faced criticism for Chelsea’s decline since a sensational first three transfer windows broke a series of records, including the all-time European spend in a single season and the British transfer record.
But with Chelsea now pushing for a place in the Europa League through improved performances under Mauricio Pochettino, Boehly said at the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha. "When we are spending, we are investing and those players continue to hold their value.
“So what we are thinking of is what does it cost to finance that portfolio of players. Some will go up and some will go down in value, but I argue the investments made at Chelsea have held their value.
“We are not spending the money, we are investing the money. So when we buy, we are just thinking about the cost of carry."
(Getty Images)
Chelsea face transfer decision17:51 , Matt Verri
Strasbourg want to keep Chelsea youngster Andrey Santos on loan next season.
The 20-year-old midfielder is one of the first success stories of Chelsea’s multi-club model under the BlueCo umbrella, the company operated by Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali.
Santos was sent on loan within the multi-club vehicle in January and has excelled. He recently scored a crucial last-minute winner in a 2-1 Ligue 1 derby win against Metz, his first goal in European football.
The one-time Brazil international is highly regarded in west London but played just twice in a disappointing loan spell at Nottingham Forest in the first half of the season.
But he has since overcome that setback to start in France in manager Patrick Vieira’s midfield and has built impressive partnerships with Ibrahima Sissoko and Habib Diarra.
(AFP via Getty Images)
Standard Sport prediction17:43 , Matt Verri
Chelsea struggled for large periods against Nottingham Forest but Pochettino’s work is clearly bearing fruit as players return from injury. Brighton, meanwhile, are winding down for the season and, though not entirely on the beach, they have bucket and spade in hand.
The Blues have enough momentum behind them to make it four wins in a row.
Chelsea to win, 2-1.
Chelsea team news17:36 , Matt Verri
Chelsea, meanwhile, were boosted by the return of Reece James from the bench after five months against Forest, to impressive ends. The captain will likely not start tonight due to his record of setbacks, with Pochettino not expected to make many changes.
Christopher Nkunku continues to build back his fitness after a number of injuries, but Nicolas Jackson scored against at the City Ground so should keep his place. Raheem Sterling will be pushing for a start after his goal.
Ben Chilwell and Carney Chukwuemeka are both back in training and closing in on a return.
(Getty Images)
Brighton team news17:29 , Matt Verri
Brighton are set to have Joao Pedro and Danny Welbeck fit, in boost to their attack options.
It is still a lengthy injury list though, with Joel Veltman and Jan Paul van Hecke joining the likes of Pervis Estupinan, Kaoru Mitoma and Evan Ferguson in missing out.
(Getty Images)
Why is Brighton vs Chelsea not on TV?17:23 , Matt Verri
Fans in the UK will be unable to watch tonight’s game live.
Chelsea’s trip to the south coast was originally scheduled for Saturday 20 May and during the 3pm blackout imposed across English football at the time.
It was, however, postponed due to Chelsea’s involvement in the FA Cup semi-finals that weekend and cannot be shown live tonight having not been selected for broadcasters’ limited allocation of games.
You can follow all the action right here with us indeed!
Good evening!17:16 , Matt Verri
Hello and welcome to Standard Sport’s LIVE coverage of Brighton vs Chelsea!
We’re into the final few days of the Premier League campaign, and Chelsea know they need to keep winning if they are to snatch European football next season.
We’ll have all the latest updates, build-up and team news ahead of kick-off, which comes at 7:45pm BST from the Amex Stadium.
