Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler got a memorable victory for his tenure as Kaoru Mitoma and Georginio Rutter scored and the Seagulls delivered a 2-1 comeback win over Chelsea at the Amex Stadium in FA Cup fourth round action on Saturday,
MORE — FA Cup fourth round scores | Man Utd eke out ‘offside’ win
Cole Palmer coaxed an own goal out of Bart Verbruggen in the fifth minute but the Brighton goalkeeper made a good save in stoppage time and his teammates otherwise stifled Enzo Maresca’s attack.
Chelsea beat Brighton 4-2 in Premier League play earlier this season at Stamford Bridge, and the two sides meet at the Amex again next weekend.
Brighton vs Chelsea final score: 2-1
Bart Verbruggen o.g. 5', Georginio Rutter 12', Kaoru Mitoma 57'
Kaoru Mitoma goal — Brighton 2-1 Chelsea (57th minute)
Kaoruuuuuuuuuuuu 🇯🇵@OfficialBHAFC's star shows his quality with a beautiful finish#EmiratesFACup pic.twitter.com/1bmvZUXZWG
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) February 8, 2025
Georginio Rutter goal — Brighton 1-1 Chelsea (12th minute)
Georginio Rutter with a perfectly placed header for @OfficialBHAFC 🔵⚪️#EmiratesFACup pic.twitter.com/awqBRNts61
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) February 8, 2025
Seagulls own goal — Brighton 0-1 Chelsea (5th minute)
How has it gone in!? 😱
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) February 8, 2025
Cole Palmer's volleyed cross finds its way into the back of the net for @ChelseaFC 🔵#EmiratesFACup pic.twitter.com/bEQ8DlTV8m
Brighton lineup
Verbruggen, Lamptey, Dunk, Van Hecke, Veltman, Hinshelwood, Baleba, Rutter, Minteh, Mitoma, Welbeck
Chelsea lineup
Sanchez, Gusto, Adarabioyo, Chalobah, Cucurella, Caicedo, Dewsbury-Hall, Neto, Palmer, Sancho, Nkunku
Brighton vs Chelsea preview — By Joe Prince-Wright
Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler will be hoping for a big reaction from his side as they host Chelsea at the Amex in the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday.
That’s because Brighton lost 7-0 at Nottingham Forest last weekend, their worst-ever Premier League defeat. After being hit by clinical Forest three times in the first half, Hurzeler’s side collapsed in the second half as they were missing key midfielders but were totally overrun and made some huge defensive errors. After a run of just two wins in their last 12 games Hurzeler needs a strong finish to the season and for the Seagulls to find some defensive solidity. Otherwise the young German coach will see his fine start to life as a Premier League manager fizzle out dramatically.
Chelsea go into this game feeling confident after they fought back to win 2-1 at home against West Ham on Monday and that has them in the top four. Enzo Maresca’s side are struggling with defensive injuries and mistakes but know Cole Palmer and Co. will usually come up with the goods to win games. Chelsea beat Brighton 4-2 at Stamford Bridge earlier this season (as Palmer scored all four goals in the first half) and have a big enough squad to rotate from here on out as they look for success in the Europa Conference League, FA Cup and to finish in the top four of the Premier League. There is also the strange coincidence that Brighton host Chelsea just six days later in the Premier League in the next game for both, so this game could be tight and tense.
Brighton team news, focus
Baleba and Ayari being out against Forest was a big blow and was a key reason in Brighton collapsing. Hurzeler is dealing with a lot of injuries for a long time now and will look to some experienced players in Dunk, Welbeck and Veltman to calm things down. He also needs more consistent production from Mitoma, Rutter, Minteh and Joao Pedro and to figure out the best combination of those attackers from the start.
OUT: Mats Wieffer (knock), Igor Julio (hamstring), Jason Steele (shoulder), James Milner (thigh), Ferdi Kadioglu (toe), Solly March (fitness)| QUESTIONABLE: Pervis Estupinan (undisclosed), Carlos Baleba (muscular), Yasin Ayari (muscular)
Chelsea team news, focus
Levi Colwill made a big error against West Ham on Monday and goalkeeper Robert Sanchez was dropped with Filip Jorgensen getting his chance to start and he did okay. After injuries to Fofana and Badiashile, Tosin has the starting spot in central defense alongside Colwill, while it will be intriguing to see if Maresca starts with Reece James at right back and Malo Gusto at left back. The likes of Christopher Nkunku, Pedro Neto, Marc Guiu and Trevoh Chalobah are all pushing to start too.
OUT: Wesley Fofana (hamstring), Mykhailo Mudryk (suspension), Benoit Badiashile (thigh), Omari Kellyman (thigh), Romeo Lavia (thigh)
Brighton vs Chelsea prediction
This seems like it will be a straightforward win for Chelsea but Brighton are wounded and will be fired up to show their fans the heavy defeat at Forest was a one-off. If Chelsea rest a few stars they’ll still been on the bench and they’ll probably be needed late on to see this through. Brighton 2-3 Chelsea.
