Arsenal icon Ian Wright has made a shock prediction for Chelsea’s Premier League clash against Brighton at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
The Blues are sixth in the top-flight table after their opening five games of the season, suffering just one defeat under head coach Enzo Maresca.
Chelsea drew 0-0 with Crystal Palace in their first Premier League match of the 2025-26 campaign before beating West Ham 5-1 and Fulham 2-0.
The Club World Cup champions then drew 2-2 with Brentford before losing 2-1 at Manchester United last time out, playing almost the entire match with 10 men after goalkeeper Robert Sanchez was sent off early-on.
Brighton, meanwhile, are 14th in the table having only registered one victory across their five Premier League games so far this season.
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But Wright is backing the Seagulls to pull off a shock result in west London this weekend following Tuesday’s 6-0 Carabao Cup victory over Barnsley.
‘Brighton are going to beat them,’ Wright said during the Super 6 section of the Stick to Football podcast. ‘I would rather go with Brighton from what I’ve seen.’
Fellow football pundit Jamie Carragher, though, believes Chelsea will get back to winning ways in the Premier League.
‘I’m going for a Chelsea win and they’ll win 2-1,’ the former Liverpool defender added.
Merson: This is a tough game for Chelsea
Paul Merson, meanwhile, is also predicting Chelsea to beat Brighton, although he admits it’s a ‘tough game’ for Maresca’s side.
‘I remember this game last season, Cole Palmer scored four goals and it was an incredible first half to watch,’ Merson told Sportskeeda.
‘It’s a must win game for Chelsea if you ask me and if they don’t get all three points, the manager will be under pressure.
‘Palmer looks to be injured and Chelsea need to rest him. But the reality is that they can’t do it. You look at Arsenal, if they have Bukayo Saka injured and Noni Madueke comes in and performs well.
‘Now that Madueke is injured, Saka just comes back in. My point is, whoever plays there, it does not weaken Arsenal. Look at all the money Chelsea have spent and still, if Palmer gets injured, they are in trouble.
‘Palmer is being forced to rush back into the line-up because Chelsea don’t have anyone else who can do what he does for them.
‘And for all the money they spent, I can’t believe they did not go out and get a goalkeeper. Can you tell me about a team that won major trophies without a good goalkeeper? You won’t find anybody.
‘This is a tough game for Chelsea and as a fan, I’m worried. But I’m still going to back them only because I don’t think this Brighton team is as good as the ones we’ve seen in recent years. Chelsea 2-1 Brighton & Hove Albion.’