Chelsea were without goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois against Brighton due to an ankle injury, with Willy Caballero replacing him at the Amex Stadium as new signing oss Barkley was named as a substitute.
Courtois picked up the injury in training at Cobham and adds to the lengthy list of absentees for head coach Antonio Conte, who was already without Alvaro Morata and Pedro Rodriguez due to suspension after the pair were sent off in Chelsea's penalty shootout win over Norwich City in Wednesday's FA Cup third round replay.
Club captain Gary Cahill and Cesc Fabregas were both confirmed as injured by Conte on Friday. Andreas Christensen returned to the centre of the Chelsea defence alongside Cesar Azpilicueta and Antonio Rudiger. Tiemoue Bakayoko partnered N'Golo Kante in midfield, with Danny Drinkwater also carrying a knock.
Chelsea team: Caballero; Azpilicueta (c), Christensen, Rudiger; Moses, Bakayoko, Kante, Alonso; Willian, Batshuayi, Hazard. #BRICHE pic.twitter.com/xnsUA23K1o
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 20, 2018
Michy Batshuayi, scorer of Chelsea's only goal in the last four matches in all competitions against Norwich, was given another chance to impress at the head of the attack in the absence of Morata, flanked in a 3-4-3 system by Eden Hazard and Willian.
Barkley was also in line to make his first Chelsea appearance since completing a £15 million move from Everton from the substitutes' bench, having been registered too late to feature against Norwich.