Arsenal vs Brighton & Hove Albion

Arsenal’s faltering pursuit of the Premier League title continues at the Emirates Stadium against surprise package Brighton & Hove Albion.

Arsenal passed what could’ve been their sternest test in the remainder of the season with flying colors, dispatching Newcastle United 2-0 last weekend to make it back-to-back two-goal margin wins in the Premier League. Despite hitting an 80-point landmark, the ‘Gunners’ could still miss out on a long-awaited title, with pacesetters Manchester City one point clear with a game in hand. Mikel Arteta’s men have racked up five wins in their last six home league outings (D1), notably scoring 3+ goals on each occasion en route to setting up the third-longest such run in Premier League history. Speaking of Arsenal’s prolificacy, they thumped Brighton 4-2 in the reverse fixture at the Amex Stadium and could complete only their second Premier League double over the ‘Seagulls.’

On the other hand, Brighton slipped to a woeful 5-1 home defeat to Everton earlier this week after back-to-back wins over Manchester United and Wolverhampton ‘to nil.’ But they’ll still on the verge of securing a first-ever European qualification, as they start this round in seventh, two points below sixth-placed Tottenham, albeit with two games in hand. Consistency has been Brighton’s enemy on the road lately, as they’ve alternated between winning (2) and losing (2) on their last two Premier League travels, with each match (won/lost) in this run seeing the winner net at least two goals. Another reason for Roberto De Zerbi’s concern is Brighton’s poor record of nine defeats from ten Premier League meetings with sides starting the round in the top two (D1).