Paul Merson makes Enzo Maresca claim in prediction for Chelsea against Brighton

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Chelsea are back at Stamford Bridge this weekend when they host Brighton in the Premier League. Ahead of the upcoming match, Paul Merson has underlined the importance of the fixture for Blues head coach Enzo Maresca.

It is worth noting that Chelsea haven’t played at home this month because all four of their September fixtures have been away.

The Blues definitely go into Saturday’s league match at home to Brighton in mixed form.

Of course, several Chelsea stars will be facing their former club this weekend, including the likes of Joao Pedro, Moises Caicedo and Marc Cucurella. The same goes for goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, who served a one-game ban for his red card against Manchester United last week.

Blues head coach Enzo Maresca must be desperate for three points because his side are winless in their previous two league matches.

• READ MORE: Peter Crouch and Steve Sidwell make different predictions for Chelsea vs Brighton

Paul Merson predicts Chelsea to beat Enzo Maresca

In his weekly column, Paul Merson has tipped Chelsea to secure a narrow victory at home to Brighton on Saturday. He added that Maresca, 45, could be under some severe pressure if his team slip up again.

Merson told Sportskeeda: “Chelsea haven’t started well this season. This is a club that is used to winning the big trophies and they must get back to where they belong. It’s a must win game for Chelsea if you ask me and if they don’t get all three points, the manager will be under pressure…

“This is a tough game for Chelsea and as a fan, I’m worried. But I’m still going to back them only because I don’t think this Brighton team is as good as the ones we’ve seen in recent years.

“Prediction: Chelsea 2-1 Brighton & Hove Albion.”

Chelsea fans should give Enzo Maresca a pass for mini blip

We’ve seen some fairly odd decisions from Maresca recently, especially with his substitutions in the Man Utd loss last weekend. The Italian manager should definitely still have credit in the bank with the fanbase, though.

As you can see above, Maresca’s record since he became the Chelsea boss nearly 15 months ago is pretty impressive.

After last season, Chelsea’s owners were delighted with Maresca because he secured Champions League qualification during his first year at the club. It was followed by winning the Club World Cup in the summer, too.

He’s proven himself to be a tactically astute coach during games, so we expect to see a reaction from him and his side to their recent below-par performances. If they drop points to Brighton, it suddenly feels like quite a mediocre start to the 2025/26 season.

Unless something drastically goes wrong, we can’t imagine Maresca being under severe pressure in the near future.