Chelsea v Brighton & Hove Albion preview: Team news, head-to-head, stats and prediction

TEAM NEWS

Chelsea defender Kalidou Koulibaly has been ruled out with the hamstring injury he suffered against Real Madrid.

Mason Mount could feature in the Premier League for the first time since the end of February after coming on as a substitute at the Bernabeu.

Brighton will be without on-loan defender Levi Colwill, who is ineligible against his parent club.

Tariq Lamptey is likely to be out for another couple of weeks with a knee problem.

CHRIS SUTTON'S PREDICTION

I was in Madrid with BBC Radio 5 live in midweek to cover Chelsea, who have not scored a goal in any of their past four games. Their drought has now lasted more than six hours in total.

The way Brighton play might suit Chelsea in some respects - the Blues had a couple of early chances against Real on the counter-attack - but I don't really know what system Frank Lampard will try this time.

Lampard used a back four in last weekend's defeat by Wolves in his first game back in charge, but went with a back three in the Champions League. Whichever way he has played, it hasn't worked because they haven't found the net.

Everyone viewed Lampard's appointment as short-term, just until the end of the season, but I am sure he harboured hopes of doing enough to get it permanently - and this been the worst possible start for him.

He needs a couple of of big results, and quickly, if he is going to turn things around but this is going to be a difficult game for Chelsea to get anything from.

Brighton will quite rightly be smarting from the manner of their defeat by Tottenham last week and the wrong decisions that went against them.

The Seagulls have one way of playing, and they are a brilliant team to watch. They deserved so much more against Spurs, but I have a feeling they will get their rewards this week.

Prediction: 1-2

MATCH FACTS

Head-to-head

• Chelsea have never lost a home league game against Brighton and Hove Albion, conceding just once in seven previous meetings at Stamford Bridge (W5, D2).
• Three of the last four meetings have ended in a draw.
• Brighton's 4-1 victory in the reverse fixture was their first-ever league win over Chelsea in 15 attempts (D4, L10).

Chelsea

• Chelsea are winless in their last four league games and have failed to score in four matches in all competitions.
• Their failure to score in their last three league matches comes despite them having 52 shots with an expected goals total of 5.5.
• They could fail to score in a fourth consecutive league match for the first time since 2007.
• Chelsea have won only one of their 14 Premier League matches this season against teams in the top half of the table.

Brighton

• Brighton's loss at Spurs last time out ended a run of five games without defeat.
• The Seagulls could suffer back-to-back league defeats for just the second time this season.
• Roberto de Zerbi's side have lost just two of their last 12 Premier League games (W6, D4).
• Three of Evan Ferguson's four Premier League goals for Brighton have come away from home.

Predict Chelsea's starting XI for their next fixture - remember you can change the formation!

Predict Brighton's starting XI for their next fixture - remember you can change the formation!