Chelsea v Brighton: Tuchel's team will go up to third with win

Chelsea v Brighton: Tuchel's team will go up to third with win

Dan Fitch is backing Chelsea to claim three valuable points against Brighton on Tuesday and is expecting the hosts to keep it tight at the back.

Memorable season on the cards for Chelsea

After a week of great cup success, Chelsea turn their attention back to the Premier League on Tuesday when they host Brighton.

If Chelsea beat Brighton they will move up to third in the Premier League, with fourth placed West Ham having lost to Newcastle over the weekend and third placed Leicester not in action until Thursday. Having reached the Champions League semi-final last week and beaten Manchester City to make it through to the FA Cup final over the weekend, it could end up being a very special season at Chelsea.

It's fair to say that this seemed an unlikely scenario before Frank Lampard was sacked and replaced by Thomas Tuchel. The German has made a real impact since being appointed, making a mockery of other coaches that might claim that they need the benefit of a pre-season to impose their ideas.

Tuchel has an almost fully fit squad to choose from on Tuesday. Only Andreas Christensen and Mateo Kovacic are currently injured.

Brighton close to safety

Brighton are close to securing their Premier League status for another season, but are still on the hunt for extra points.

The Seagulls currently have a decent cushion between themselves and the relegation zone, with 18th placed Fulham six points behind. This is one of two games in hand that Brighton have over Fulham and is arguably their toughest remaining fixture.

A trip to Sheffield United at the weekend looks a more realistic chance to claim three points and further distance themselves from the drop. That's not to say that Brighton will not be competitive in this game, with the recent 2-1 away defeat at Manchester United being Chelsea's only loss over the last four games (W2 D1).

Graham Potter has a number of injury problems going into this match. Tariq Lamptey, Solly March and Andone Florin are all out, while Percy Tau and Aaron Connolly are doubts.

Tight win for Chelsea, but beware Brighton attack

Chelsea are the 1.62 favourites, with the draw at 4.2 and a Brighton win out at 6.8.

Though it's been a draining week for Chelsea, with games against Porto and Manchester City, we have to expect a home win and their price represents decent value. Chelsea have kept clean sheets in 14 of their 19 games under Tuchel and can be backed at 2.52 to win to nil.

The worry with that bet is that Brighton always create chances. For that reason, backing a Chelsea win and under 3.5 goals at 2.14 might make more sense.

Pulisic could find net in low scoring game

Chelsea's games under Tuchel have tended to be low scoring affairs. Some 16 of their 19 games under the German have seen less than three goals scored.

Under 2.5 goals can be backed at 1.86 as a standalone bet. When combined with a Chelsea win, the odds swell to 3.4.

With such a congested fixture list, Tuchel looks bound to rotate a little. He left Christian Pulisic on the bench for the semi-final against Manchester City and the American could be a decent bet to score at 3.3. Pulisic has scored three goals from the last three games he's started.