Chelsea vs Brighton: Confirmed team news, Pochettino sets demands as Colwill decision made

Chelsea face Brighton & Hove Albion in the second game of their 2023 pre-season tour of the United States and the team news is in from Lincoln Financial Field.

Mauricio Pochettino‘s side comfortably secured victory in their first game in America on Wednesday after running out 5-0 winners against League Two side Wrexham in North Carolina, which saw Christopher Nkunku score during his first appearance for the club.

They now face Brighton, Newcastle United and Fulham in the Premier League Summer Series tournament, with Roberto De Zerbi’s side up first.

Pochettino is relishing the chance to play fellow top-flight English sides. He said: “We’re very excited to be here. We came to prepare, every team comes in a different place. Our team I knew, and is in a different zone to the other teams with their continuity.”

“We’re working on preparing for the next year, focused on our objectives and preparing a base for next season. We want Chelsea to get back to where it belongs and want it to be. Newcastle come in preparing for Champions League, Brighton have continuity, it is not an excuse. We come here to build and at the end of the day we just want to try to win.”

The friendly will get underway at 12am BST time, 7pm local time, and will be available to watch live on Sky Sports and Peacock. Click here for the full details.

Here is the confirmed team news from the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Chelsea

Starting XI: Kepa, Gusto, Silva, Colwill, Chilwell, Santos, Gallagher, Sterling, Chukwuemeka, Maatsen, Nkunku

Bench: Cumming, Bergstrom, Chalobah, Humphreys, Gilchrist, Cucurella, Hall, Casadei, Enzo, Moreira, Angelo, Mudryk, Jackson, Burstow

Brighton

Starting XI: Steele, Gross, Van Hecke, Webster, March, Gilmour, Dahoud, Hinshelwood, Lallana, Mitoma, Welbeck

Bench: Verbruggen, Joao Pedro, Alzate, Enciso, Undav, Andingra, Ayari, Ferguson, Veltman, Weir, Samuels, Peupion, Baker-Boaitey