Chelsea team news: Dunk a doubt, Wieffer could return

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Charlie Hanson

2025-02-13T11:05+00:00

Lewis Dunk was replaced at half-time against Chelsea in our FA Cup match. 📷 by Paul Hazlewood.

Albion face Chelsea for the second time in six days on Friday when Premier League points are up for grabs, kick off 8pm at the Amex.

Team news

Mats Wieffer's last appearance came in our 1-1 draw at West Ham in December - the Dutchman put us in front at the London Stadium. 📷 by James Boardman.

On Lewis Dunk, "Lewis is doubtful. We have to see if he can train today, but I am not sure if he will be available for the game."

On Pervis Estupinan, Mats Wieffer, Solly March and James Milner, "Estupinan is still doing rehab, he won’t be an option for the game. Mats has trained this week so he might be an option, but we have to see. Solly March is back in training, but I think it’s too early for him. James Milner is still out unfortunately."

Fabian's thoughts

On facing Chelsea again, "I don't think it's about surprising them. It's more about doing the same things, but with one or two percent more. The main thing is intensity and we played intensely [on Saturday] and I think therefore we set the standards high. Now it's about challenging ourselves, improving our standards, playing more intensely, running more, sprinting more.I think it's not about outplaying the opponent because, like I said, Chelsea is a great opponent."

On Georginio Rutter's form, "He's a role model. He's an athlete, he can win personal duels. He can use his body in a very effective way. He can run a lot. He can sprint a lot. And on top of that, he's a very positive guy. So normally I see him smiling, only not when we lose. So hopefully after this game I see him again with very positive mood."

Match facts

After a five-game unbeaten run against Chelsea in the Premier League (W2 D3), Brighton have now lost each of their last three against them.

Chelsea have lost just one of their seven Premier League away games against Brighton (W4 D2), going down 4-1 in October 2022.

Having failed to score in five of their first eight Premier League meetings with Chelsea, Brighton have now scored in each of their last seven against them. However, they’ve only kept one clean sheet in their 15 games against the Blues in the competition.

Brighton suffered their heaviest league defeat since August 1958 (0-9 v Middlesbrough) last time out against Nottingham Forest (0-7) and the Seagulls could now lose three Premier League games in a row for the first time since March 2022 (a run of 6 under Graham Potter).

Chelsea are currently on the longest winless streak away from home in the Premier League (D2 L2), going four without victory since beating Spurs 4-3 in early December; the Blues averaged 2.9 goals per game across their first eight away league games of the season but just 0.5 per game across this winless run.

Brighton are unbeaten in their last three Premier League home games against sides starting the day in the top four (W2 D1), though Fabian Hürzeler’s team are winless in five overall at the Amex Stadium since beating then second place Manchester City in November (D2 L3).

Only Liverpool have come from behind to avoid defeat in more Premier League games this season than Chelsea (7 times – W3 D4 L5); meanwhile the Blues have won two of their last three league matches when behind at half-time (v Spurs and West Ham), as many as across their previous 31 when trailing at the break (D4 L25).

Only Wolves’ (15.7%) and Manchester City’s (14.5%) opponents are converting their shots at a higher rate than Brighton’s (13.9% - 38/273) in the Premier League this season, while only Wolves (3) and West Ham (3) have netted more own goals than the Seagulls (2).

Cole Palmer scored four goals in the reverse fixture against Brighton earlier this season – the most goals a Chelsea player has scored against an opponent in a single Premier League campaign is five: Gianluca Vialli v Barnsley (1997-98), Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink v Tottenham (2001-02) and Diego Costa v Swansea (2014-15).

Match officials