Like Fulham away on Monday, this was a fixture the world champions lost last time around after having a player sent off. The 10 men in royal blue led 1-0 but were eventually downed 3-1 with Danny Welbeck, now under Xabi Alonso’s direction, among the visitors’ stoppage-time scorers.

In fact the Blues have not beaten the Seagulls since Cole Palmer’s 10-minute hat-trick inspired a 4-2 victory at the Bridge in September 2024.

On Thursday the visitors completed the job against Tromso to qualify for the UEFA Conference League proper, only their second European campaign. Last time they had to fulfil European midweeks, in 2023/24, they slipped from the previous sixth-place Premier League finish to 11th.

Also on Thursday, Chelsea’s first home game of the season ended in a 2-0 victory over Luton Town, with Welbeck opening his Blues account.

The Londoners can now secure three consecutive wins on all fronts for the first time since January (a run of five).

Team news

Xabi Alonso is hopeful Chelsea midfielder Moises Caicedo will be ready to face Brighton on Sunday, and confirmed Levi Colwill and Geovany Quenda are in contention to face the Seagulls after missing the win over Luton.

'There were no issues [with Colwill and Quenda], and the plan is that they are training and preparing for the game on Sunday,' said Alonso in his pre-match press conference on Thursday night.

'He [Caicedo] is hopefully training and we are hopeful that he can be involved, but we need to check. No decision has been made.’

One player expected to be in contention to return for the Blues on Sunday is Wesley Fofana, who served the second of his two-match suspension against Luton. Summer signing Jordan Henderson may need more time, with Alonso stating that the Blues are waiting for him to be given the 'green light to play soon' following the injury he sustained during the World Cup.

The history

Chelsea have won just one of our past seven first home league games of the campaign, a 3-0 victory over Crystal Palace in 2021 with goals from Marcos Alonso, Christian Pulisic and debutant Trevoh Chalobah's first for the club.

The remainder of that run comprises four draws and three losses, but it was not always such hard going at the Bridge. The Blues have won 20 of our previous 34 opening home games in the Premier League era, drawing 10 and losing four.

The first of those victories came against Norwich City in 1994, as Glenn Hoddle’s project entered its second season. With the Shed End removed for redevelopment, goals from Frank Sinclair and Paul Furlong either side of the break settled the score.

In 1999, a stellar set of goal scorers saw off a decent Sunderland side 4-0 – Gus Poyet (two), Gianfranco Zola and Tore Andre Flo – and a year later Mario Stanic made his mark with a stunning volley during a 4-2 romp against West Ham United.

Then, in 2004, the game was forgettable but the result was vital, as Jose Mourinho’s management began with a 1-0 win against title rivals Manchester United thanks to Eidur Gudjohnsen.

Three years later, United’s ’noisy neighbours’ Man City were taken apart by goals from iconic trio John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba, while in 2010, 1997 FA Cup hero Roberto Di Matteo was shown no mercy as the Blues hit his West Bromwich Albion team for six – a club record for a curtain-raiser at the Bridge.

A fine record of opening-day success heralding a title win was upheld in 2016, as Antonio Conte savoured a 2-1 derby defeat of West Ham, ahead of what proved another glorious campaign.

Know this...

Chelsea (1.96) and Brighton (3.54) recorded the highest expected goals tallies over the opening weekend of the Premier League.

The Seagulls have scored three goals in each of their past three Premier League encounters with the Blues. Welbeck scored three of those.

Following our 3-2 victory at Fulham, Chelsea have won six of the past seven opening away fixtures of the Premier League season.

Thanks to Monday’s west London derby win, the world champions are already three points up on last season’s corresponding Premier League fixtures. Victory over Brighton would make that six.

Chelsea’s run of 17 league outings without a clean sheet is the longest for the club since the same number in 1991, which ended with the Blues winning 1-0 at Sheffield United on 3 September – straight after a 4-1 home win against Luton Town.

Thursday’s 2-0 Carabao Cup victory over Luton was our first shutout in any competition since the 1-0 win in last season’s FA Cup semi-final grudge-match with Leeds United, who will now be our next opponents in the League Cup.

Apart from opening his goals account at the first attempt, Morgan Rogers set up five chances for team-mates at Fulham, the most by a Chelsea debutant since the statistic was first recorded in 2003/04.

Joao Pedro’s 31-second opener at Fulham was the fastest ever over the first weekend of the Premier League season and quickest by a Chelsea player since the other Pedro’s strike against Man Utd in October 2016.

Quickest Chelsea goals in the Premier League

19 seconds - 8 October 1994 - John Spencer vs Leicester City (h)
24 seconds - 12 September 1998 - Gianfranco Zola vs Nottingham Forest (h)
28 seconds - 3 October 1999 - Gustavo Poyet vs Manchester United (h)
29 seconds - 21 February 2004 - Eidur Gudjohnsen vs Arsenal (h)
30 seconds - 23 October 2016 - Pedro vs Manchester United (h)
31 seconds - 24 August 2026 - Joao Pedro vs Fulham (a)