Brighton & Hove Albion and Chelsea do battle at the Amex Stadium on Monday evening with both clubs looking for improved Premier League campaigns.
While the Blues edged out Leicester City for fourth place last season, the Seagulls could only finish in 15th position in the standings.
Match preview
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After a relatively-successful first season in charge of Chelsea, Frank Lampard now has the task of turning his side into challengers for silverware on a regular basis.
Although they squandered the chance to win the FA Cup last month, there were positives to take from reaching the final and claiming a Champions League spot through their Premier League form.
However, having been provided with the funds to sign several world-class players, Lampard is aware that the stakes are far greater than they were during a season without being able to add to his squad.
While the club legend is still attempting to sign a new goalkeeper and defensive-minded player who can play in defence and midfield, he will feel that his squad have the firepower to outscore any opponents in the division.
All eyes will be on Kai Havertz and Timo Werner after they netted 52 goals between them for Bayer Leverkusen and RB Leipzig during the last campaign.
Like his Chelsea counterpart, Graham Potter will feel under pressure to build on guiding Brighton to their second Premier League survival in succession.
Despite 15th spot being acceptable for his first year at the Amex Stadium, there is optimism that Brighton can challenge for a position in the top half of the table.
As well as pulling off coups in signing Joel Veltman and Adam Lallana, tying Lewis Dunk and Ben White to long-term contracts feels just as important in the grand scheme of things
Facing Chelsea in their opening fixture is a tough start for Brighton, but the two teams did play out a competitive 1-1 draw in a pre-season friendly at the end of last month.
Brighton & Hove Albion form (pre-season friendlies): DD
Chelsea form (pre-season friendlies): D
Team News
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Despite making good progress in his recovery from a hamstring injury, Christian Pulisic is likely to be restricted to a place on the substitutes' bench.
With Mateo Kovacic serving a suspension, Jorginho is expected to partner N'Golo Kante in central midfield, with Mason Mount getting the nod over Ruben Loftus-Cheek further forward.
Thiago Silva will be given time to settle into life at Chelsea, potentially resulting in Antonio Rudiger lining up alongside Kurt Zouma in the centre of defence.
Given the defensive options at his disposal, Potter must choose whether to use a 4-2-3-1 formation or line up with a back three.
Preference may be given to a back four, leading to former Chelsea youngster Tariq Lamptey having to make do with a spot among the replacements.
Brighton & Hove Albion possible starting lineup:
Ryan; Veltman, White, Dunk, Burn; Propper, Bissouma; Gross, Lallana, Trossard; Maupay
Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Caballero; James, Zouma, Rudiger, Alonso; Kante, Jorginho; Havertz, Mount, Hudson-Odoi; Werner
We say: Brighton & Hove Albion 2-2 Chelsea
With Lampard having to wait to field his new-look backline, Brighton will naturally feel that they can take full advantage. However, given the options in Chelsea's attack, we feel that a thrilling draw could be played out on the South Coast.
Top betting tip
Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 3.5:dataVideo prediction
Watch the Sports Mole Football Shorts prediction for this game below:
Darren Plant
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Chelsea win with a probability of 49.86%. A win for Brighton & Hove Albion had a probability of 25.92% and a draw had a probability of 24.2%.
The most likely scoreline for a Chelsea win was 0-1 with a probability of 10.06%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (9.58%) and 0-2 (8.42%). The likeliest Brighton & Hove Albion win was 1-0 (6.85%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.45%). The actual scoreline of 1-3 was predicted with a 5.3% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Chelsea would win this match.
