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2023/24 English Premier League
Matchday 14
Chelsea v Brighton & Hove Albion
Stamford Bridge
London, England
Sunday, 3 December 2023
Kick-off is at 14h00
Recent history is not on Chelsea's side as they as they look to get back on the winning trail against Brighton at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, December 3.
The Blues haven't beaten the Seagulls in the
Premier League for three years, losing both home and away last season after drawing their previous three encounters.
Mauricio Pochettino's side slumped to a 4-1 heavy against Newcastle at St James' Park on November 25 and have now shipped eight goals in their last two games following the 4-4 draw with Manchester City on matchday 12.
They're only just hanging onto 10th place in the standings after Brentford (11th) also lost to Arsenal, while West Ham (9th), Albion (8th) and Manchester United (6th) all won their respective matches to extend the gap to the West Londoners.
Image copyright: Getty Images
Brighton battled back from an early goal down to emerge 3-2 victors against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground, which halted a run of six games without a win, although the last three ended in draws.
Roberto De Zerbi's side are just a point behind the Magpies (7th) and a further five adrift of the UEFA Champions League places.
Chelsea were poor against the Tynesiders, but Raheem Sterling came away from the trip to the north-east with some credit after scoring a sublime free-kick in the 23rd-minute to cancel out Alexander Isak's 13th-minute opener. The winger has now scored in back-to-back outings to tally his tally for the campaign to five goals from 13 appearances.
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Joao Pedro had made a promising start to his career on the south coast after making the move from Watford in the off-season. The Brazilian striker scored on his debut against Luton and made it four goals for the season with his match-winning brace at Forest last time out as he ended a seven-match barren spell.
Pochettino described the result at Newcastle as their worst performance of 2023-24, admitting his players weren't mentally up for the contest.
"Even if Newcastle weren't great, it was an easy win. It was so easy with the way we conceded, and we were so soft in every challenge," the Argentine said.
"We didn't show that we were playing for something important. That's what makes me angry and disappointed. Even if we are a young team and need to learn, these types of games make me very angry.
"We need to show more strength in our mental game. We need to blame ourselves. We need to be more focused. We conceded easy goals. It was our worst game of the season."
De Zerbi was seen charging down the pitch after the final whistle to celebrate exuberantly in front of the travelling fans at the Amex and revealed his reasons the reasons behind his actions.
"It was like a final in Champions League [because of] the way we won the game with 10 players and without the captain. I am an emotional coach - it's part of football," the Italian said.
"I want to explain my celebration. It wasn't disrespectful towards my opponent, I live inside football so I know about these things but we are suffering a lot through injury.
"We have 10 injuries and lost two more (Ansu Fati and Tariq Lamptey) in the first half and we also suffered a red card. Without 10 players injured for us to compete in the Europa League and the Premier League and to be seventh is a good achievement."
Head-to-Head (Last Five Premier League Meetings)
Matches - 5
Chelsea - 0
Brighton - 2
Draws - 3
Premier League Matchday 14 fixtures:
Saturday, December 2
15h00: Arsenal v Wolverhampton Wanderers
15h00: Brentford v Luton Town
15h00: Burnley v Sheffield United
17h30: Nottingham Forest v Everton
20h00: Newcastle United v Manchester United
Sunday, December 3
14h00: Bournemouth v Aston Villa
14h00: Chelsea v Brighton & Hove Albion
14h00: Liverpool v Fulham
14h00: West Ham United v Crystal Palace
16h30: Manchester City v Tottenham Hotspur
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