We’ve had a running joke since BlueCo bought Chelsea in 2022 that they were trying to turn us into a more expensive version of Brighton, but the sad reality is that the Seagulls have, more or less, ended up owning us instead of the other way around. And that’s despite the multitude of players (and coaches) who have moved up to the big city from the coast.
Brighton have won six of the last ten matchups across all competitions, including the last four on the bounce by an aggregate score of 10-2. Ten!
And they’ve finished ahead of us in two of the four BlueCo seasons, including last year.
So I suppose it’s fitting that Xabi Alonso gets a chance early on against our bogey team. Time to set a new tone.
Date / Time: Sunday, August 30, 2026, 14.00 BST; 9am EDT; 6:30pm IST
Venue: Stamford Bridge, SW6
Referee: Michael Oliver (on pitch); Andrew Kitchen (VAR)
Forecast: Chance of rain; chance of looking on like the GIF of David Tennant in the rain
On TV: Sky Sports Main Event (UK); NBCSN (USA); Star Sports HD1 (India); SuperSport Premier League, Canal+ Sport 4 (NGA); elsewhere
Streaming: Sky Go (UK); NBC Sports Live (USA); JioHotstar (India); DStv Now (NGA)
Chelsea team news: It’s been a very busy week, on and off the pitch, with our veritable plethora of sporting directorii trying to arrange more deals than we can count — mostly outgoing, but also a few incoming. And there may be even more madness ahead, with the Enzo Fernández saga going down to the wire. (Enzo may in fact be sitting out once again.)
Meanwhile, we’ve shipped out Nicolas Jackson and Liam Delap for a combined £100m (!), loaned out a handful of defenders (including Axel Disasi, Benoît Badiashile, and Mamadou Sarr), and also decided to get a new goalkeeper after (ex-Brighton man) Robert Sánchez’s latest disasterclass last weekend. Unfortunately, professional provocator Emi Martínez has not gotten signed in time (or at all yet, as of this writing), so young Mike Penders will likely get his chance. He was cool, calm, and collected against Luton Town in the Cup, but was also hardly challenged.
Despite all the comings and goings, Alonso has managed to keep at least a semblance of order in the squad. He did play a surprisingly strong lineup against third-division opposition on Thursday, with Cole Palmer, Reece James, and Morgan Rogers all starting their second match in four days and Palmer even going the full-90. Let’s hope they have something left in the tank for a third game in seven days. It may be early and they may be raring to go, but we’ve learned to be concerned about such things in recent years, having been bitten by the injury bug a few too many times (especially in the case of Reecey, but also Palmer greatly affected by a groin issue last season).
Ex-Brighton man Danny Welbeck got off the mark for Chelsea last time out, while ex-Brighton man João Pedro has been on fire since preseason. Ex-Brighton man Marc Cucurella may have gone, but ex-Brighton man Moisés Caicedo could make his return after a brief absence. Marco Palestra has nothing to do with Brighton, but he remains out with a minor concern, while ex-Br…entford old man Jordan Henderson is still coming up to speed after his World Cup (mis)adventures.
Brighton team news: Fabian Hürzeler may look like he should still be in school (that bears ain’t fooling anyone, buddy), but he guided the Seagulls to an eighth place finish last season, which was good enough for Conference League football this season.
They’ve done their usual bit this summer, selling a couple big names for big moneys (Jan Paul van Hecke to Tottenham Hotspur and Carlos Baleba to Manchester United), and replaced them with some small(er) names for small(-ish) moneys who will surely go for greatly inflated fees in a few years, probably to Chelsea. Luka Vušković, come on down. (In fairness, Vušković was hardly a small money signing, even in today’s market, at a whopping £46m; in fact, he’s their new record signing.)
Brighton began the league season with a 4-0(!) win over Aston Villa — Villa played most of the game with ten, but they had already conceded all the goals before the red card — which was sandwiched by a two-legged Conference League qualifier against Tromsø, which they’ve also won 4-0. Eight goals scored and none conceded in the first three games of the season is not too shabby.
They do have a few injury issues of note, with Yakuba Minteh and Jack Hinshelwood ruled out (the latter scored a brace against Villa from midfield) while Kaoru Mitoma is still in rehab from the hamstring surgery that also caused him to miss out on the World Cup. Georginio Rutter, who has two goals and two assists in his last five games against us, is facing a late fitness test.
Previously: It’s not been fun against the Seagulls. But we’ve got a front-of-shirt sponsor now, so you know, we might be a proper football club once again.
