Chelsea-Brighton & Hove Albion Preview

Graham Potter believes Brighton and Hove Albion have merely been unlucky as they have failed to win a game since he left for Chelsea, their next opponents.

Potter returns to Brighton with the Blues on Saturday, looking to extend his former club's winless run.

He was in charge when they last tasted victory against Leicester City at the start of September in a result that seemed to suggest the Seagulls could challenge the established 'big six'. Brighton are now down in ninth, six points and four places behind Chelsea.

"We all want to win," Potter said. "The difference is luck. We've won our games and maybe had a bit of luck, and Brighton haven't had too much.

"Both of us are under pressure because it is a Premier League game, and both of us want to win. They're a good team. Apart from luck, they'd have more points."

Roberto De Zerbi, Potter's successor, likewise believes only results have evaded Brighton.

"We are not 100m per cent happy because the results have not been good for us," he said. "But I believe in the players and we believe in ourselves.

"Graham Potter did a very good job here, and I would like to say thanks for this team. But I want to win our first game, to change the moment. The moment is not bad, but when the results are not good, you are a bit sad. The quality of play, the skills we show have been very good, but of course we need that first win."

Brighton and Hove Albion – Leandro Trossard

Brighton lacked a consistent goalscorer under Potter and still are not getting regular goals from a centre-forward, but winger Trossard is now netting regularly. He has goals against Liverpool and Manchester City already so will be looking for another big one against Chelsea.

Chelsea – Raheem Sterling

Sterling is now playing the sort of role Trossard did for Potter, occasionally used as a wing-back and struggling to contribute in attack. The Chelsea boss has repeatedly been asked about the England man's form, and both the player and his coach could do with a big performance.

– Brighton and Hove Albion have never beaten Chelsea in the Premier League in 10 previous meetings (D4 L6), with the last three all ending as draws.

– Chelsea have never lost against Brighton in 14 previous league meetings (W10 D4). Only three fixtures in Football League history have been played more often with one team unbeaten: Man City vs Bournemouth (17), Cardiff City vs Halifax Town (16) and Crystal Palace vs Wrexham (16).

– Brighton have not led for a single minute in any of their 10 Premier League games against Chelsea (D4 L6). The only team to play more games against a specific opponent without ever taking the lead in the competition are Portsmouth also against Chelsea (14).

– Chelsea are unbeaten in their last six Premier League games (W4 D2), although they have drawn the last two. The Blues last drew three successive league matches in January and February 2012 under Andre Villas-Boas.

– Since Potter's departure, Brighton have failed to win any of their five Premier League games (D2 L3). Should the Seagulls fail to win this match, De Zerbi would become just the third manager in the club's league history to fail to win any of his first six games at the helm, after Don Welsh in 1948 (eight) and Barry Lloyd in 1987 (12).

Updated October 28, 2022