After Wednesday’s thrashing of Grimsby Town in the EFL Cup, Lampard will be dreaming of his first league victory at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea manager against Brighton.
The Blues, who picked up their first win of the campaign at home in cup play midweek, are suffering their slowest start in the last 18 years. A league win, however, has yet to experienced under the legendary midfielder. The worry only worsens as the matchweeks go by, and Chelsea – currently 11th with eight points – dips further down the table. However, in theory, there is a sense of hope coming their way: Brighton.
TEAM NEWS
Chelsea: Callum Hudson-Odoi and Reece James are in contention after impressing in midweek. Hudson-Odoi marked his return from injury with a goal in the 7-1 drubbing of Grimsby, while defender Reece James was on target on his Blues debut.
Frank Lampard expects Olivier Giroud and Andreas Christensen to be fit after illness and injury respectively but Antonio Rudiger, Emerson Palmieri and Ruben Loftus-Cheek remain sidelined.
Brighton: Centre-back Shane Duffy is out after the Republic of Ireland international suffered a calf problem in the midweek Carabao Cup defeat against Aston Villa.
Glenn Murray (ankle) should be available having returned to training, while Alireza Jahanbakhsh could come into contention again following an injury picked up during the international break.
Leandro Trossard (groin) continues his recovery, along with Solly March (thigh) and Bernardo. Jose Izquierdo (knee) and Ezequiel Schelotto (knee) also remain sidelined.
PREDICTED LINE-UP
Potential Chelsea starting XI: Kepa; Azpilicueta, Christensen, Tomori, Marcos Alonso; Kante, Jorginho; Willian, Mount, Pulisic; Abraham.
Potential Brighton starting XI: Ryan; Webster, Dunk, Burn; Montoya, Stephens, Propper, Alzate; Gross, Mooy; Maupay.
KICK-OFF TIME
UTC 2019/09/28 14:00