Brighton vs Chelsea prediction: Palmer can deliver perfect Valentine’s gift | OneFootball

The Premier League returns this weekend and the action gets underway on Friday night when Brighton host Chelsea for the second time in a week (8pm, Sky Sports Main Event).

The two sides met last weekend in the FA Cup when goals from Georginio Rutter and Kaoru Mitoma earned the home side a 2-1 win and a trip to Newcastle United in the fifth round.

That victory was quite a turnaround for Fabian Hürzeler’s side who were beaten 7-0 by Nottingham Forest in their last league outing, a game to forget for everyone of a Brighton persuasion.

The Seagulls sit 10th in the league, nine points behind Friday’s opponents with just two wins from their last 12 matches.

Those wins came against Ipswich and Manchester United, but they have drawn six and lost the other four, including their last two matches.

Chelsea have won just two of their last eight league matches, to slip from three points behind the leaders Liverpool to 14 points off the pace in fourth place.

A home defeat to Fulham on Boxing Day came as a shock to the side, who had won five of their previous six matches, and they followed it with a 2-0 home defeat at Ipswich who secured only their third league win of the season.

They have failed to win back-to-back league games since the beginning of December so can they get back on track on Friday?

Brighton vs Chelsea betting preview: Goals, not cards, expected on Valentine’s Day

In eight of the last nine meetings between the two sides, both sides have scored and we’ve seen an average of 3.33 goals per game.

Football betting sites have Chelsea as the favourites to take all three points on Friday, at 11/8, while Brighton are 9/4 and a draw is 11/4.

Following a five-game unbeaten run against Chelsea in the league, where they won two and drew three between 2021 and 2023, Brighton have now lost each of their last three encounters.

Chelsea completed the double last season when a 3-2 win at Stamford Bridge was followed by a 2-1 victory at the Amex Stadium where Cole Palmer and Christopher Nkunku were on target before Reece James was sent off and Danny Welbeck pulled one back for the home side.

The Blues have actually lost just one of their seven away games against Brighton, in the league, going down 4-1 in October 2022 and despite defeat less than a week ago, they will fancy their chances of making it a fourth league win in a row.

The fact that both sides have been so inconsistent since December means it’s a tough one to call but we think Chelsea could, and should, just sneak the victory.

Cole Palmer scored all four goals in the 4-2 win earlier in the season and has 14 goals in 27 games so far.

He also scored the opening goal the Amex last season and betting sites are offering 5/1 on him scoring first and last or 29/20 to score at any time.

You can even get 45/1 on him scoring a hat-trick or 15/2 to score two or more.

Since joining Chelsea in September 2023, Palmer has scored more than once on seven different occasions, and four twice, against the Seagulls and Everton in a 6-0 win last season.

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