Brighton team news: De Zerbi confirms six certain starters to face Chelsea

Brighton and Hove Albion will look to sweep aside the disappointment of last Saturday’s 2-1 loss at Tottenham as they visit Chelsea this weekend.

Albion are seventh in the league standings and remain on track for European qualification as they face Frank Lampard’s team, who are a lowly 11th in the table.

Former Brighton boss Graham Potter was recently sacked by the West London, who have appointed Lampard on an interim basis until the end of the season.

Brighton thrashed Chelsea 4-1 in the reverse fixture back in October as goals from Leo Trossard (now at Arsenal), PAcal Gross, plus own goals from Ruben Loftus Cheek and Trevor Chalobah sealed a victory.

Albion have been excellent under Italian head coach Roberto De Zerbi this season and despite last Saturday’s loss at Tottenham perhaps ending their top four hopes, the Seagulls still have plenty to play for this season. A win at Chelsea will maintain their push for the Europa League qualification spots and they also have an FA Cup semi-final against Man United at Wembley Stadium to look forward to April 23.

De Zerbi, who was sent off in the previous game at Tottenham, has been hard at work on the training pitch this week and put his players through their paces in front of Albion fans in an open training on Tuesday.

De Zerbi then held a junior press conference where one of the questions was what will be his starting line-up for the Premier League clash at Stamford Bridge. The Italian surprised many in the room by instantly naming six players but stopped short of giving away his full team. Lewis Dunk, Pervis Estupian, Moises Caicedo, Alexis Mac Alister, Kaoru Mitoma and Solly March have all been outstanding this season and named by the coach, who will be banned from the touchline following his latest red card.

"Dunk, Mac Allister, Caicedo, Mitoma, March, Estupinan.” said De Zerbi. “But normally I want to see in the week of work to decide better. Because in this period we play a lot games and I have to be ready to change something inside the first XI.”

De Zerbi was also asked by the junior press pack if his team can beat Man United in the FA Cup semi-final. “It will be a tough game for us,” he said. “But also a tough game for them.”

Watch the full junior press conference here.