MX23RW : Friday, November 8 01:39:05| >> :120:10263:10263:
[monks data]
Brighton logo
Premier League | Gameweek 1
Sep 14, 2020 at 8.15pm UK
The American Express Community Stadium
Chelsea logo

Brighton
1 - 3
Chelsea

Trossard (54')
Lamptey (81')
FT(HT: 0-1)
Jorginho (23' pen.), James (56'), Zouma (66')

Graham Potter relishing "exciting" Chelsea showdown

Frank Lampard's Blues have spent more than £200million on new talent.

Graham Potter believes Chelsea's substantial recruitment drive is exciting for the Premier League and has urged Brighton's players to embrace taking on the division's biggest spenders.

Albion boss Potter faces a tricky opening to the new season with Frank Lampard's new-look Blues visiting the Amex Stadium on Monday evening.

The west London club were under a transfer embargo when manager Lampard was appointed last summer and have wasted little time in making up for the sanction by investing heavily this time around.

More than £200million has been spent bringing Hakim Ziyech, Timo Werner, Kai Havertz, Thiago Silva, Ben Chilwell and Malang Sarr to Stamford Bridge.

Potter insists facing world-class opponents is part of the thrill of competing in the top flight and wants his squad to relish the tough assignment.

"I think it's just exciting for the Premier League, exciting for the competition," he said of Chelsea's transfer business.

"There's a chance that the top teams will invest. Everyone does it in different ways, of course.

"But for us we just need to take the challenge on, embrace it, it's what we're here for, to test ourselves against the best.

"We're lucky that we are here (in the Premier League) and we're going to do everything we can to keep fighting and try and get points."

Midfielder Ziyech, signed from Ajax, and former Leicester left-back Chilwell will not feature on the south coast due to injuries.

Veteran Brazil defender Silva is a doubt as he builds fitness following his arrival from Champions League finalists Paris St Germain.

Potter feels Chelsea's spending is clear intent of their desire to become title contenders after finishing 33 points adrift of champions Liverpool last term.

He admits it may be advantageous to face Lampard's men early in the campaign while the new arrivals are still adapting to unfamiliar surroundings.

"Who knows? I can't predict that. There is an argument for (that)," said Potter.

"But the players are top players and they could just gel very quickly and hit the ground running.

"I can't control how quickly Chelsea become the team they want to become.

"I've just got to focus on my team and help them get to the maximum level they can because if we don't do that it doesn't matter what Chelsea do, we're going to struggle."

Brighton and Chelsea met just over a fortnight ago in a friendly used as a pilot event for the return of supporters.

Potter expects that warm-up match, a 1-1 draw played in front of just over 2,500 fans, to have little bearing on the forthcoming behind-closed-doors clash.

"It was a good exercise for both teams, but I would say that's all it was really," he said.

"We used it to pilot the supporters coming back, which was really successful, it was nice to have some supporters in the ground.

"Both teams used it for what it was, there were lots of changes made. We're expecting a different type of game in the Premier League."

ID:414156: cacheID:414156:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:5002:No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Adam Lallana in action for Brighton & Hove Albion in summer 2020
Read Next:
Graham Potter tips Adam Lallana to have "very powerful" impact on Brighton team
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
1.15am
Bengals
@
Ravens
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool108111961325
2Manchester CityMan City1072121111023
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest10541147719
4Chelsea105322012818
5Arsenal105321711618
6Aston Villa105321715218
7Tottenham HotspurSpurs1051422111116
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton104421714316
9Fulham104331413115
10Bournemouth104331312115
11Newcastle UnitedNewcastle104331010015
12Brentford104151920-113
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd10334912-312
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham103251319-611
15Leicester CityLeicester102441418-410
16Everton102351017-79
17Crystal Palace10145813-57
18Ipswich TownIpswich100551021-115
19Southampton10118719-124
20Wolverhampton WanderersWolves100371427-133


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!