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Everyone together now for a singsong. After me: Chelsea, Chelsea, Chelsea! Chelsea. Chelsea. Chelseee-aaa.
Sends shivers down your spine really doesn’t it?
The biggest issue I found with this stage of the season is that it’s hard to get into the groove of things because the FA Cup is seemingly always around the corner, while AFCON looms large in the background this year too.
Mid-January to early March are the biggest tests of squad depth that you can find a calendar year and that’s down to not just the influx of games, but understanding how to balance priorities.
Brighton v Chelsea – Tuesday, January 18: 8pm
BT Sport 1
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Unless you’re on a massive run and don’t feel obliged to switch the lineup all the time, you’re probably going to be mixing and matching as you go.
Brighton might well feel they can compete in the top half of the Premier League but the best way for them to do that is by understanding that after Chelsea, they entertain Leicester, Watford, Burnley and Villa.
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Chelsea to Win
Let’s get this out of the way nice and early. That performance against City might not have produced any tangible returns in the points department, but it did show they can go toe to toe with the league’s best as everyone else cowers around them.
It wasn’t a case of just hanging in there, either. Finishing second to a generational side like City is no bad thing and given Tuchel is reaching final after final with Chelsea, he can cement his legacy that way.
They’ll be fresh here and there’s no doubt in my mind he’ll switch it up ever so slightly. More on that later.
Half Time: Chelsea
I like this angle in particular because it’s the outcome that empowers the first selection. If Chelsea are ahead at the break, I simply don’t envisage a situation where Brighton, who struggle for goals at the best of times, mount a comeback against the European champions.
Potter loves possession – which sounds in isolation like a Hogwarts/Emily Rose mashup – but without it, he’s quite impatient and they leak mistakes trying to win the ball in situations where they should be patient.
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Both Teams To Score: No
Chelsea’s biggest strength this year isn’t their firepower or their defensive solidarity – it’s their game management and seeing out results when they have them in their grasp I can see a scenario where they keep the ball well enough in the final 20 and claim three points with relative ease.
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Jorginho to Score Anytime
There’ll be a shuffle of the pack, but Jorginho remains a consistent in this team. And when there’s a chance starters sit out, taking any of them to net is a risk. The man who sets penalty records does seem like the value play in this instance.
Brighton v Chelsea betting tips:
Chelsea to Win
Half Time: Chelsea
Both Teams To Score: No
Jorginho to Score Anytime
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