Ross Barkley On The Bench As Chelsea Take On Brighton

Ross Barkley On The Bench As Chelsea Take On Brighton
11:41, 20 Jan 2018

Ross Barkley is on the bench for Chelsea as they take on Brighton in the early Premier League kick-off at the Amex Stadium.

In goal, Willy Caballero comes in for the injured Thibaut Courtois while Michy Batshuayi gets a rare start.

Chelsea were already without the suspended duo of Pedro and Alvaro Morata who were both sent off against Norwich.

Brighton are without Izzy Brown (on loan from Chelsea), who is injured but he would have been ineligible anyway, while Steve Sidwell is also still sidelined, with the midfielder yet to make an appearance for the club in the Premier League due to a combination of back and ankle injuries.

The Seagulls have been starved of wins, recording only one victory from their last dozen league games, meaning they're now only three points above the dreaded drop zone in 16th place. Chris Hughton’s men head into Saturday’s clash winless in four (D2 L2), while they are yet to stun any of the top-6 sides. However, from a more positive angle, the club draw confidence from performances on their own patch, having suffered only one defeat in 12 at the Amex.

Draws to Arsenal and Leicester means the defending Premier League champions are without a top-flight win 2018, or a victory in any competition in four games this year. As a result, Antonio Conte’s men have slipped to 4th, but if they avoid defeat on Saturday they will move up a spot. But while performances have dipped in January, the Blues are in fact unbeaten in 11 matches, while they’ve only lost once in the league since mid-October.

x
Suggested Searches:
The Sportsman
Manchester United
Liverpool
Manchester City
Premier League
Sportsman HQ
72-76 Cross St
Manchester M2 4JG
We will not ask you to provide any personal information when using The Sportsman website. You may see advertisement banners on the site, and if you choose to visit those websites, you will accept the terms and conditions and privacy policy applicable to those websites. The link below directs you to our Group Privacy Policy, and our Data Protection Officer can be contacted by email at: [email protected]

All original material is Copyright © 2019 by The Sportsman Communications Ltd.
Other material is copyright their respective owners.