Leandro Trossard will be looking to break a unique Premier League record when Brighton & Hove Albion welcome Chelsea to the Amex Stadium on Saturday.
The Belgian attacker has been a standout performer for the Seagulls so far this season, scoring six goals and registering two assists in 11 league appearances.
Brighton have failed to win any of their first five matches under new head coach Roberto De Zerbi, but Trossard's form in front of goal has arguably been the club's only saving grace since the Italian replaced Graham Potter in the dugout.
All four of Brighton's Premier League goals under De Zerbi have been scored by Trossard, including a memorable hat-trick in the 3-3 draw at Liverpool as well as a strike in last weekend's 3-1 defeat at Manchester City.
Brighton's No.11 is one of only three players in Premier League history who has scored each of his team's first four goals under a manager.
© Reuters
Italian striker Fabrizio Ravanelli became the first player to achieve this feat when he netted the first four goals under the tutelage of Colin Todd for Derby County between October and November in 2001.
Eighteen years later, Finnish striker Teemu Pukki scored the first four Premier League goals for Norwich City under Daniel Farke in August 2019.
Should Trossard score Brighton's first goal against Chelsea on Saturday, he will become the first player in Premier League history to score the first five goals under a manager.
Trossard has stepped up on the big occasions so far this season, with all six of his Premier League goals against teams who ended the previous campaign within the top eight in the table.
© Reuters
However, only one of the Belgian's goals this term has come on home soil – a strike in the 5-2 Amex triumph over Leicester City last month, which was Potter's final game in charge before moving to Chelsea.
Trossard has failed to come out on the winning side in all of his previous four meetings against Chelsea, including three draws and a 3-1 home defeat in September 2020.
Indeed, that defeat saw Trossard score his only goal against the Blues, with his left-footed strike cancelling out an earlier penalty from Jorginho, before Reece James and Kurt Zouma helped the West Londoners claim maximum points at the Amex.
Trossard – who has been linked with a potential switch to Chelsea in recent weeks – is expected to be named in this weekend's starting lineup for Brighton, who currently sit ninth in the Premier League table, six points behind the Blues in fifth place.
Oliver Thomas
