Arsenal vs Brighton & Hove Albion

Emirates Stadium sets the stage for a handsomely-looking Premier League encounter between Arsenal and Brighton & Hove Albion.

Arsenal shared the spoils with PSV Eindhoven in midweek Champions League action (1-1), failing to deliver the expected response to last weekend’s 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa. A gut-wrenching result in Birmingham halted the London outfit’s four-game winning streak in the Premier League and saw Liverpool leapfrog them at the summit. In a buoyant mood after reaching the Champions League knockouts as Group B winners, the ‘Gunners’ return to domestic proceedings seeking revenge for a disastrous 3-0 loss in this corresponding fixture last term. Mikel Arteta’s team can draw confidence from their formidable form in the home setting this season, having racked up an eye-catching eight wins in 11 competitive matches at the Emirates Stadium (D3), including six consecutive triumphs by a combined score of 19-2.

On the other hand, Brighton’s heroic 1-0 home win against Marseille in midweek means their maiden Europa League campaign continues in the last-16 and fills manager Roberto De Zerbi with confidence ahead of this trip. But the ‘Seagulls’ have blown hot and cold across their last three Premier League games (W1, D1, L1), resulting in them sliding to mid-table, even points adrift of fourth-placed Manchester City. Leaving East Sussex spells trouble for the visitors, who have lost three of their five most recent league fixtures on the road (W1, D1), worryingly conceding 3+ goals in each defeat. Notoriously porous at the back, Brighton are without a clean sheet in 20 consecutive Premier League matches since famously routing Arsenal in this match-up last May. But they’ve at least scored on each occasion.