Seeking redemption for last weekend's humbling experience at St James' Park, Chelsea welcome Brighton & Hove Albion to Stamford Bridge for Sunday afternoon's Premier League showdown.
Facing a decimated Newcastle United side, the 10-man Blues were ripped to pieces in a 4-1 defeat against the Magpies, leading Mauricio Pochettino to label his side's performance the "worst" he has seen from them to date.
The Magpies' mauling leaves Chelsea in the familiar position of mid-table mediocrity with a third of the season played, occupying 10th place in the standings with 16 points on the board from a possible 39.
Meanwhile, a resurgent Brighton followed up their 3-2 Premier League success over Nottingham Forest by defeating AEK Athens 1-0 in Europa League action on Thursday, thereby ensuring at least a place in the knockout round playoffs.
Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at the head-to-head record and previous meetings between the two sides.
Head-to-head record
Previous meetings: 21
Chelsea wins: 13
Draws: 5
Brighton wins: 3
Meetings between Chelsea and Brighton have been commonplace since the Seagulls' meteoric rise several years back, but with the visitors plying their trade in the lower divisions for decades, there have only ever been 21 competitive showdowns between the two clubs.
From those 21 contests, 13 have seen Chelsea come out on the correct end of the scoreline, including in their most recent clash in the EFL Cup third round just over two months ago, where summer signing Nicolas Jackson was the hero in a 1-0 triumph.
In contrast, Brighton have a mere three competitive wins to shout about versus the Blues, although two of those successes came in the 2022-23 Premier League season, where Roberto De Zerbi's men did the double over the team to poach Graham Potter from their dugout.
Potter's return to the Amex in October 2022 was a chastening affair for the Englishman, whose side were subjected to an embarrassing 4-1 defeat, before Julio Enciso's cracking strike gave Brighton a 2-1 Stamford Bridge win in April of this year, spoiling Frank Lampard's West London homecoming.
Another five meetings between Chelsea and Brighton have ended level, including three successive Premier League matches between April 2021 and January 2022, prior to which the Seagulls suffered their most recent league defeat to the Blues in September 2020.
That 3-1 success at the Amex marked a sixth win from seven Premier League games for Chelsea in this fixture, but with the tables turning, the Blues have now failed to triumph in any of their last five top-flight games against Brighton, who had previously endured an 89-year wait for another win against their West London foes.
Four Division Two meetings between 1983 and 1989 all went the way of Chelsea, who also overcame Brighton in the third round of the 1972-73 FA Cup and fourth round of the 1966-97 tournament, although they required a replay to get over the line in the latter.
It has been almost 91 years since the club's inaugural meeting in the third round of the 1932-33 FA Cup, where Brighton - then a Third Division South team - stunned Chelsea in a 2-1 success before losing to West Ham United in round five.
Last 20 meetings
Sep 27, 2023: Chelsea 1-0 Brighton (EFL Cup Third Round)
Apr 15, 2023: Chelsea 1-2 Brighton (Premier League)
Oct 29, 2022: Brighton 4-1 Chelsea (Premier League)
Jan 18, 2022: Brighton 1-1 Chelsea (Premier League)
Dec 29, 2021: Chelsea 1-1 Brighton (Premier League)
Apr 20, 2021: Chelsea 0-0 Brighton (Premier League)
Sep 14, 2020: Brighton 1-3 Chelsea (Premier League)
Jan 01, 2020: Brighton 1-1 Chelsea (Premier League)
Sep 28, 2019: Chelsea 2-0 Brighton (Premier League)
Apr 03, 2019: Chelsea 3-0 Brighton (Premier League)
Dec 16, 2018: Brighton 1-2 Chelsea (Premier League)
Jan 20, 2018: Brighton 0-4 Chelsea (Premier League)
Dec 26, 2017: Chelsea 2-0 Brighton (Premier League)
Mar 15, 1989: Brighton 0-1 Chelsea (Division Two)
Oct 29, 1988: Chelsea 2-0 Chelsea (Division Two)
Dec 31, 1983: Chelsea 1-0 Brighton (Division Two)
Sep 03, 1983: Brighton 1-2 Chelsea (Division Two)
Jan 13, 1973: Brighton 0-2 Chelsea (FA Cup Third Round)
Feb 22, 1967: Chelsea 4-0 Brighton (FA Cup Fourth Round replay)
Feb 18, 1967: Brighton 1-1 Chelsea (FA Cup Fourth Round)
Jan 14, 1933: Brighton 2-1 Chelsea (FA Cup Third Round)
Last 10 Premier League meetings
Apr 15, 2023: Chelsea 1-2 Brighton (Premier League)
Oct 29, 2022: Brighton 4-1 Chelsea (Premier League)
Jan 18, 2022: Brighton 1-1 Chelsea (Premier League)
Dec 29, 2021: Chelsea 1-1 Brighton (Premier League)
Apr 20, 2021: Chelsea 0-0 Brighton (Premier League)
Sep 14, 2020: Brighton 1-3 Chelsea (Premier League)
Jan 01, 2020: Brighton 1-1 Chelsea (Premier League)
Sep 28, 2019: Chelsea 2-0 Brighton (Premier League)
Apr 03, 2019: Chelsea 3-0 Brighton (Premier League)
Dec 16, 2018: Brighton 1-2 Chelsea (Premier League)
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