Chelsea vs Brighton & Hove Albion odds

Chelsea and Brighton & Hove Albion will do battle with a place in the fourth round of the EFL Cup up for grabs.

Chelsea vs Brighton & Hove Albion odds

Here are the latest match odds for Chelsea vs Brighton & Hove Albion. All odds are provided by our best-reviewed football betting sites.

⚡ Quick Chelsea vs Brighton & Hove Albion bets

• Brighton to win - 9/5 with bet365
• Under 2.5 goals - 5/4 with bet365
• Joao Pedro to score any time - 13/5 with bet365

Chelsea vs Brighton & Hove Albion predictions

This has become something of a grudge match over the last 12 months or so.

In September 2022, Chelsea appointed Brighton & Hove Albion boss Graham Potter as their new manager.

Potter brought five colleagues with him to Stamford Bridge: his assistant manager Billy Reid, coaches Bjorn Hamberg and Bruno Saltor, goalkeeper coach Ben Roberts and analyst Kyle Macaulay.

He also renewed acquaintances with Marc Cucurella, who had swapped the south coast for west London that summer.

There was more to come. In November Paul Winstanley, who headed up Brighton’s recruitment, was appointed as Chelsea’s co-sporting director.

Then, in the summer of 2023, the Blues signed Robert Sanchez and Moises Caicedo from the Seagulls. In a little over a year, Chelsea have paid Brighton around £225m.

As a result, Brighton fans have reacted gleefully to their club’s outperformance of Chelsea since the start of last season.

Albion did the double over the two-time European champions last term. They are currently third in the Premier League table, whereas Chelsea are in the bottom half.

Brighton have not lost any of their last five meetings with the Blues, which could give them the edge on Wednesday.

But as ever with this competition, much will depend on how seriously the two clubs are prepared to take the EFL Cup.

�� Chelsea vs Brighton & Hove Albion betting tips

Chelsea have endured a dismal 12 months and Brighton can compound their misery in this EFL Cup tie.

Brighton to win - 9/5 (bet365)

Hardly anything has gone right for Chelsea in the last year.

It is remarkable to think that the club from west London were European champions as recently as 2021.

The season before Todd Boehly assumed control of the Blues, they finished third in the Premier League.

They have since spent in excess of £1 billion on new players, only to finish 12th last term and then win only one of their first six top-flight encounters in 2023/24.

Questions are already being asked of Mauricio Pochettino after a 1-0 defeat by Aston Villa on Sunday, but the bulk of the criticism should be aimed at his superiors at Stamford Bridge.

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Chelsea have been badly run since Boehly came through the door. Brighton, on the other hand, are the Premier League’s model club in terms of extracting the absolute maximum from the resources at their disposal.

Working on a fraction of the budget of their upcoming opponents, Albion have assembled an excellent team and are genuine top-four contenders this season.

The EFL Cup will not be among their top priorities, but Roberto De Zerbi regularly rotates his side without the level dropping by much.

Chelsea, conversely, are devoid of confidence and lacking any sense of purpose or identity. Things could get worse before they get better.

Under 2.5 goals - 5/4 (bet365)

Of the 17 teams that have been ever-present in the Premier League since the beginning of this year, no side has picked up fewer points than Chelsea.

The Blues have only won one more match than Leicester City, who were relegated last season. Both Leicester and Leeds, who also went down in 2022/23, have scored more Premier League goals than Chelsea this year.

Putting the ball in the net has indeed been a huge problem for the Blues. Of the 29 top-flight fixtures they have contested since January 1, they have failed to score in 13.

Chelsea have notched two or more goals in just five of those games. By way of comparison, Manchester City have matched that record this season alone.

Against Wimbledon in the second round, Pochettino shuffled his pack and handed starts to some of the younger members of his squad, including Diego Moreira and Mason Burstow in attack.

Given how badly the first team have fared up to now, Chelsea fans will hope to see another youthful line-up here.

But whichever way Pochettino goes, Chelsea are unlikely to deliver a free-flowing performance going forward.

Meanwhile Brighton’s attacking rhythm might not quite be at the usual level if De Zerbi names an unfamiliar XI, so this could be a relatively low-scoring game.

Joao Pedro to score any time - 13/5 (bet365)

De Zerbi went with both Danny Welbeck and Evan Ferguson up front in the 3-1 defeat of Bournemouth at the weekend.

That meant Joao Pedro, among others, had to be content with a place on the bench, which is where he remained until the 63rd minute.

De Zerbi will have half an eye on a tricky trip to Aston Villa this weekend, so both Welbeck and Ferguson could be rested here.

That would open the door to Joao Pedro, who looks like an astute pick in the anytime scorer market.

Capable of playing out wide or through the middle, the Brazilian has primarily been used in a central role so far.

He is a reliable penalty-taker who should be on spot-kick duties for Brighton at Stamford Bridge, provided he starts.

�� How to watch Chelsea vs Brighton & Hove Albion

• Location: Stamford Bridge, London, England.
• Date and time: Wednesday 27 September 2023, 7.45pm.
• How to watch: Not being shown live in the UK.

Greg Lea

Greg Lea is a freelance football writer from London. He predominantly covers the Premier League and has had work published by the Guardian, FourFourTwo, ESPN and others.

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