Chelsea to catapult themselves back into top four
FA Cup finalists Chelsea will be high in confidence after their win over then quadruple-chasing Manchester City at the weekend. Thomas Tuchel has also led the Blues into the semi final stage of the UEFA Champions League where they'll face Real Madrid, whilst simultaneously reviving their hopes of a top four position in the Premier League, which at one point looked unthinkable. They will host a Brighton & Hove Albion side at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday evening who will be seeking to put even more daylight between themselves and the relegation places, but might find they have to look to other fixtures to do that. Read our preview here:
Edouard's no king
Tuchel will almost certainly rotate his large squad, especially with key clashes with West Ham United and Real to come within the next week. One such change will surely come in goal, giving Edouard Mendy another chance to recapture the form he displayed in the early exchanges of 2020/2021. Brought in by ex-boss Frank Lampard as competition for Kepa, the rangy shot-stopper initially impressed before falling foul of the same kinds of errors that have dogged his understudy. The #1 jersey is up for grabs. but Thiago Silva should be given the night off from marshalling the defence after his excellent display against City. Elsewhere, Kai Havertz will lead the line. with the front three looking to make Brighton's backline sit as deep as possible to give them space to operate in.
All creatures Groß and small
Graham Potter has done an admirable job in largely keeping the Seagulls away from the bottom three, all whilst having to contend with arguably his most prized asset Tariq Lamptey since way back in early December. The front three at Stamford Bridge have a decent pool of goals between them, but more could be gleaned from Leandro Trossard, who is also starting to become a regular feature in the colours of world leaders Belgium. Their main avenue of supply will come from right wing-back Pascal Groß, who has shifted around roles as and when required to by his manager. and he'll be the focus from dead balls, too, hoping to take advantage of any weaknesses caused by a reshuffle for the hosts.
Tuch-ed into third... for now
Chelsea have the chance to leapfrog their weekend opponents whilst having parity in the number of games left remaining to them (six). That is not the case with Leicester City. but it's becoming more obvious by the week that it's going to be a total bunfight for third and fourth. bet365 have odds of 3.10 for Havertz to score anytime for a match that is now completely overshadowed by the club signing up to be founder members of a European Super League...
