Chris Sutton predicts Brighton to get a positive result against Chelsea

Chris Sutton believes Graham Potter will not have a victorious return to the south coast this Saturday, claiming his Chelsea side ‘wont find it straightforward’ against Brighton.
By Frankie Elliott
Published 28th Oct 2022, 10:20 BST
Updated 28th Oct 2022, 10:51 BST
Despite the contrast in form, Sutton believes Brighton will hold Chelsea to a 1-1 draw.Despite the contrast in form, Sutton believes Brighton will hold Chelsea to a 1-1 draw.
Despite the contrast in form, Sutton believes Brighton will hold Chelsea to a 1-1 draw.

Potter returns to the Amex Stadium this Saturday for the first time since the 47-year-old left the club to become head coach at Stamford Bridge last month.

The 47-year-old has overseen nine games unbeaten since moving to the West London club, qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League with a 2-1 win away at Red Bull Salzburg on Tuesday, thanks to goals from Mateo Kovačić and Kai Havertz.

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His Albion successor, Roberto De Zerbi, has yet to win since taking over from Potter last month, extending the club’s winless streak to five games last Saturday after losing 3-1 to Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.

Erling Haaland scored two goals last week in City's 3-1 win against Brighton.Erling Haaland scored two goals last week in City's 3-1 win against Brighton.
Erling Haaland scored two goals last week in City's 3-1 win against Brighton.

Despite the contrast in form, Sutton believes Brighton will hold Chelsea to a 1-1 draw, with the former Blackburn striker being impressed by how the Seagulls played against the Premier League champions in their last outing.

Sutton said: “After five games in charge, Roberto de Zerbi is still waiting for his first win as Brighton boss.

“That means he already had his predecessor, Graham Potter, looming over him - now he goes directly up against him on Potter's first return to the club where he did such a good job.

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“In contrast, Potter is unbeaten after nine games with Chelsea, but I don't think this will be straightforward for them at all.

“Brighton were actually decent in defeat against Manchester City last weekend. A lot of teams get rolled over by City, but the Seagulls took the game to them at times and they will do the same here.”

Sutton picks scores for every top-flight game this season against a variety of guests on the BBC Sport website – going up against rapper Dapz on the Map for this weekend’s round of fixtures.

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Dapz is going one further then Sutton and believes De Zerbi’s side will take all three points from Saturday’s encounter.

He said: “Potter going back to Brighton means Chelsea have lost this game. It's not about who is managing Brighton now, it is about their players and they are really going to want to win this one.”

Related topics:Chris SuttonChelseaBrightonManchester CitySutton