15′ James’ cross from the right is cut out by Webster. Chelsea are guilty of being a little too cautious with their play at the moment.
14′ Chelsea are not really managing to keep hold of the ball in the final third. It has been a fairly scrappy game so far, with neither team creating anything of note.
12′ This is the third time Chelsea are starting a Premier League campaign on a Monday, with the Blues going on to win the title on the previous two occasions (2014-15 and 2016-17).
10′ Mount plays a ball over the top for new team-mate Havertz but it has too much on it and Ryan collects on the edge of his box.
8′ Werner is flagged offside for the second time in five minutes. The visitors have not really got going so far, with Werner and Havertz managing one touch of the ball between them.
6′ Brighton are playing some decent football. They work the ball down the right and then the left, but there is no way through for now.
5′ Webster carries the ball forward five yards and decides to have a go from a long, long way out. Kepa is happy to watch the ball sail over the crossbar.
4′ Lallana, who has had his fair share of injury issues, takes a bit of a whack but is okay to continue. Werner runs in behind but mistimes his run and is flagged for offside.
2′ The sides are set out as expected – three at the back for Brighton; 4-2-3-1 for Chelsea, with Jorginho and Kante in holding midfield.
1′ KICK-OFF! Brighton get their 2020-21 campaign up and running at the Amex Stadium. Chelsea have lost two of their last three season openers in the Premier League.
Both sets of players are making their way down the tunnel area and kick-off is now just a couple of minutes away. This game will be played behind closed doors, as will every Premier League fixture for the foreseeable future.
Brighton and Hove Albion have failed to win any of their previous six Premier League encounters with Chelsea, losing five times and scoring two goals in the process. The Blues have never lost against Brighton in league competition, in fact, winning nine and drawing one – their best return against a single opponent without losing.
Chelsea have handed competitive debuts to a couple of their new signings, with German pair Havertz and Werner making the XI. Fellow newbies Ziyech, Ben Chilwell and Thiago Silva are not available for selection just yet because of injury and fitness reasons. Christian Pulisic also misses out because of an injury problem, so Mount is selected in the frontline.
Former Liverpool midfielder Lallana has been handed his debut for Brighton after joining on a free transfer during the close season. Defender White is the other new face in the hosts’ XI, having returned from a hugely successful spell on loan with Leeds United in the Championship last season. Lamptey joined Brighton from Chelsea in January and starts at right wing-back today.
Subs: Callum Hudson-Odoi, Cesar Azpilicueta, Antonio Rudiger, Tammy Abraham, Ross Barkley, Olivier Giroud, Willy Caballero.
CHELSEA XI (4-3-3): Kepa Arrizabalaga; Reece James, Kurt Zouma, Andreas Christensen, Marcos Alonso; Jorginho (c), N’Golo Kante; Kai Havertz, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Mason Mount; Timo Werner.
Subs: Dale Stephens, Dan Burn, Joel Veltman, Jason Steele, Pascal Gross, Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Aaron Connolly.
BRIGHTON XI (3-4-1-2): Mat Ryan; Ben White, Lewis Dunk (c), Adam Webster; Tariq Lamptey, Steven Alzate, Yves Bissouma, Solly March; Adam Lallana; Leandro Trossard, Neal Maupay.
Plenty of eyes will be on Chelsea after spending big in the transfer window to rejuvenate their squad. Frank Lampard favoured youth last season and they rewarded him with a fourth-place finish, but a lot more will be expected this time around after bringing in the likes of Kai Havertz, Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech.
Brighton finished 15th last season – their first under head coach Graham Potter – and will be looking to finish a little higher this time around after a positive transfer window to date. Potter’s men drew both of their pre-season friendlies, including a 1-1 draw with Chelsea here at the end of last month.
Hello and welcome to our live text coverage of the Premier League meeting between Brighton and Hove Albion and Chelsea at the Amex Stadium.
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