A congested European qualification battle sets the stage for Tuesday evening’s Premier League encounter at the Amex Stadium, where Brighton & Hove Albion host a Chelsea side in the midst of a significant slump. Just one point separates the two clubs heading into the match, lending the fixture considerable weight in the final stretch of the 2025-26 campaign.
Chelsea arrive in Sussex having lost each of their last four Premier League matches, a record that makes them the only team in the division with such a run of consecutive league defeats at this stage of the season. The most recent setback came on Saturday when Matheus Cunha condemned them to another loss, extending a sequence that stretches back to a victory over Aston Villa at the start of March. Since that result, Chelsea’s only wins in any competition have come against lower-league opposition in the FA Cup. Regardless of Tuesday’s outcome, the Club World Cup champions cannot finish above sixth place in the Premier League table, and the poor run has allowed Brentford, Bournemouth, Fulham, Brighton, and Everton all to close the gap significantly.
Brighton, by contrast, have been among the division’s more consistent performers in recent weeks. Georginio Rutter’s stoppage-time equaliser against Tottenham extended the Seagulls’ unbeaten run to four Premier League games, and they head into the match with genuine momentum. Their most recent home fixture produced a 2-1 victory over Liverpool in March. However, Brighton have won only three of their last 10 Premier League home games after beginning the season with four wins from their first six at the Amex.
The head-to-head record between these sides has shifted notably in Brighton’s favour in recent years. The Seagulls claimed a memorable 3-1 victory at Stamford Bridge in September, a result that extended their winning run over Chelsea to three consecutive matches across all competitions, following back-to-back FA Cup and Premier League wins in February 2025 — those two results coming just six days apart. Brighton have now won their last two league fixtures against Chelsea, matching the total they managed in their first 19 league meetings against the Blues, during which they drew four and lost 13. Chelsea have also lost two of their last four matches against Brighton when scoring first, including the reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge earlier this season.
On the team news front, Brighton face doubts over two key attackers. Diego Gomez was substituted early against Tottenham with a suspected knee injury and is expected to miss the match. Kaoru Mitoma, who came on as a replacement and scored a notable goal, was also taken off after picking up a knock and is considered uncertain. Captain Lewis Dunk returns from suspension after accumulating too many yellow cards, while James Milner could come back into contention having missed the last two games.
Chelsea interim manager Levi Rosenior is hopeful that top scorer Joao Pedro will be available to face his former club after missing the Manchester United defeat with a thigh problem. Enzo Fernandez is expected to be fit despite requesting substitution late in that match. Estevao is set to be sidelined with a hamstring injury, joining Reece James, Filip Jorgensen, and Jamie Gittens on the club’s injury list. Levi Colwill, recovering from an ACL injury, featured for the under-21 side last week but remains unavailable for first-team selection.
Possible starting lineups see Brighton lining up as: Verbruggen; Wieffer, Dunk, Van Hecke, Kadioglu; Gross, Ayari; Minteh, Rutter, De Cuyper; Welbeck. Chelsea are expected to field: Sanchez; Gusto, Fofana, Chalobah, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez; Palmer, J. Pedro, Neto; Delap.
A Brighton win would allow the Seagulls to leapfrog Chelsea in the standings and strengthen their own push for European football next season. For Chelsea, a positive result would halt a damaging run that has placed increasing pressure on the club’s relationship with its supporters. The match kicks off on Tuesday evening at the Amex Stadium.
