15th May Premier League Preview: Brighton vs Chelsea
Following the success of last season, it’s been a rather disappointing campaign for the Seagulls languishing mid-table. It’s been a season plagued with injuries, but the focus here is on two players coming up against their former club.
Pick 1: Gilmour O0.5 Shots (1.8, bet365)
Pick 2: Lamptey O0.5 Fouls + Lamptey O1.5 Tackles (1.91, Skybet)
Players Out
Brighton: Solly March, Estupinan, Milner, Ferguson, Hinshelwood, Mitoma, van Hecke, Veltman, Joao Pedro (25%)
Chelsea: Fofana, Lavia, Enzo Fernandez, Ben Chilwell, Chukwuemeka, Robert Sanchez
Predicted Line-ups
Brighton: Verbruggen, Lamptey, Dunk, Webster, Igor, Gross, Gilmour, Adingra, Buonanotte, Fati, Welbeck
Chelsea: Petrovic, Gusto, Thiago Silva, Badiashile, Cucurella, Caicedo, Gallagher, Madueke, Palmer, Mudryk, Jackson
Pick 1: Gilmour O0.5 Shots
Gilmour left Chelsea in September 2022 in search for first-team action – a wish which has been fulfiled under Roberto De Zerbi this season. The Scotland international has featured 28 times this season, two of which came against his former employers.
In a 1-0 loss at Stamford Bridge in the EFL Cup, Gilmour made a 26′ minute appearance off the bench, and had a shot.
Later, in December, Gilmour got a start against Chelsea in the league at Stamford Bridge, and once again had a shot in the 71st minute. He seems eager to prove his worth, and show why he deserved more first team opportunities.
He’s got a pretty solid record for shots at home – with this selection landing in 13/17 at the Amex this season, averaging 0.94 shots per game.
Pochettino deserves credit for the Blues’ uptick in form of late, but they are still leaking chances defensively. Their away form has remained poor, having won just one of their last 7. In those seven games, Chelsea have conceded 136 shots – an average of 19.7 shots per game. It’s perhaps inflated by some tough matchups, but Brighton have also managed 18 and 13 shots against Chelsea this season – both at Stamford Bridge.
Bet 1: Gilmour O0.5 Shots (1.8, bet365)
Pick 2: Lamptey O0.5 Fouls + Lamptey O1.5 Tackles
Having risen through the Chelsea academy, Lamptey switched allegiances to Brighton for similar reasons as Gilmour. He has, however, featured more sporadically owing to a constant stream of injury problems. With Veltman seemingly ruled out of this clash, Lamptey is the most likely beneficiary, especially as he replaced the Dutch international in the last game against Newcastle.
Lamptey is a very energetic player, an extremely gifted athlete who duels well. If he is guaranteed minutes, he is certainly one to target for both fouls and tackles.
The Ghana international has started just 14 games this season in all competitions, seeing out the full 90 in just four. One of those came against Chelsea, though, and Lamptey managed 4 tackles and 3 fouls against Mudryk on the right-wing. The Ukrainian has been performing better recently, rewarded with five straight starts, so we could see this exact matchup again.
When starting against bigger teams this season, Lamptey has been getting in a notable number of duels:
- 5 tackles, 1 foul vs Arsenal
- 2 tackles, 1 foul vs Liverpool
- 2 tackles, 1 foul vs Tottenham
- 4 tackles, 3 fouls vs Chelsea
Lamptey cleared these two selections comfortably last time he matched up against Chelsea, so these odds are definitely appealing. Off a small sample, it’s also landed against some similar attacking teams. With Veltman out, Lamptey should have a pretty safe minutes floor, barring any mitigating circumstances.
Bet 2: Lamptey O0.5 Fouls + Lamptey O1.5 Tackles (1.91, Skybet)
Thanks for reading, and best of luck if tailing!
If you’re a fan of the content, consider becoming a member!
