Brighton & Hove Albion take on Chelsea in the FA Cup on Saturday evening, with the two Premier League sides looking to book a spot in the last 16.
The Seagulls, who have never won the famous cup competition, host the Blues, who have lifted the trophy on eight occasions.
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Both clubs will fancy their chances of making it to Wembley come May, with this meeting a welcome distraction from the pressures of the Premier League.
Brighton v Chelsea team news
Brighton
The Seagulls have a long injury list with Mats Wieffer, Jason Steele, James Milner, Solly March, Ferdi Kadioglu, Carlos Baleba, Yasin Ayari, Igor and Pervis Estupinan all missing last time out against Nottingham Forest.
Fabian Hürzeler has revealed that Wieffer is back in training and March is making good progress, however, none of the players are set to return this weekend.
Chelsea
Chelsea’s absentees last time out were Wesley Fofana, Romeo Lavia, Benoit Badiashile, and Omari Kellyman. All of them look set to miss the match against Brighton.
Marc Guiu has also suffered a ‘bad’ injury, as revealed by Enzo Maresca, whereas Nicolas Jackson is also a doubt for the trip to south coast.
Where to watch Brighton v Chelsea on TV
The fixture between Brighton and Chelsea was selected to be shown live by ITV. Scheduled to kick-off at 8pm (GMT) on Saturday 8, February, ITV4 will broadcast the match live, whereas viewers can also stream the game on ITVX.
In the USA, the match will be streamed on ESPN+, and in Canada, live on TV with channel Sportsnet.
Brighton v Chelsea referee and is there VAR?
Despite the match being played by two Premier League clubs, there will be no VAR for the fourth-round tie, with the FA deciding to introduce Video Assistant Referees from the fifth round.
Therefore, the man with all the power will be referee Jarred Gillett. The Australian will be assisted by Darren Cann and Sam Lewis, with the fourth official being Stephen Martin. Gillett, 38, has taken charge of eight Chelsea games and seven for Brighton in the past.
|
Jarred Gillett record |
Brighton |
Chelsea |
|---|---|---|
|
Games |
7 |
8 |
|
Record |
4W, 0D, 3L |
3W, 4D, 1L |
|
Cards received |
9 Yellow, 0 Red |
15 Yellow, 1 Red |
|
Cards to opponents |
10 Yellow, 0 Red |
11 Yellow, 0 Red |
|
Penalties for/against |
3/2 |
3/0 |
Brighton v Chelsea form
Brighton
A few weeks ago, Brighton were on course to be coming into this FA Cup clash in fine form and full of confidence. However, back-to-back defeats in the Premier League to Everton and Nottingham Forest have changed that.
Hürzeler’s side lost 1-0 to Everton then shipped seven against Forest last time out, leaving them 10th in the Premier League.
|
Brighton’s last five results (all competitions) |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Date |
Opponent |
Competition |
Result |
|
Sat 1st Feb |
Nottingham Forest (a) |
Premier League |
L 7-0 |
|
Sat 25th Jan |
Everton (h) |
Premier League |
L 0-1 |
|
Sun 19th Jan |
Man Utd (a) |
Premier League |
W 1-3 |
|
Thu 16th Jan |
Ipswich (a) |
Premier League |
W 0-2 |
|
Sat 11th Jan |
Norwich (a) |
FA Cup |
W 0-4 |
Chelsea
Meanwhile, Chelsea, who ended 2024 with successive defeats against Fulham and Ipswich Town, have also struggled for consistency which has seen them drift away from the title race.
A defeat to Manchester City last time on their travels, Maresca’s Blues did manage to come from behind to beat West Ham last time out to keep them in the top four.
|
Chelsea’s last five results (all competitions) |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Date |
Opponent |
Competition |
Result |
|
Mon 3rd Feb |
West Ham (h) |
Premier League |
W 2-1 |
|
Sat 25th Jan |
Man City (a) |
Premier League |
L 3-1 |
|
Mon 20th Jan |
Wolves (h) |
Premier League |
W 3-1 |
|
Tue 14th Jan |
Bournemouth (h) |
Premier League |
D 2-2 |
|
Sat 11th Jan |
Morecambe (h) |
FA Cup |
W 5-0 |
Brighton v Chelsea head-to-head
Before Brighton’s promotion to the Premier League in 2017, the two sides only met on a handful of occasions, with all four of their first games coming in the FA Cup.
The sides met in 1933, twice in 1967 and again in 1973 and overall, it is Chelsea who have the better record between the two sides.
|
Brighton v Chelsea head-to-head (all competitions) |
|
|---|---|
|
Brighton wins |
3 |
|
Draws |
5 |
|
Chelsea wins |
16 |
