Brighton & Hove Albion vs Brentford
Brighton & Hove Albion and Brentford are set to trade tackles in a mid-table Premier League showdown at the Amex Stadium.
Despite going a man up before the break, Brighton slumped to a goal-glutted 3-2 defeat at Chelsea over the weekend, failing to build on qualifying for the Europa League knockout stages. Roberto De Zerbi’s men had enjoyed a flying start to the new Premier League campaign. But after going winless in seven of their last eight matches (D4, L3), they find themselves in a precarious spot. With fourth-placed Aston Villa already seven points off, the ‘Seagulls’ cannot afford another slip-up, though three consecutive home league draws paint a bleak picture. If it’s any consolation, they’ve only lost once in seven home league outings this season (W3, D3), which bodes well for their bid to end a two-game losing H2H run in the top flight (D1, L1).
Visiting Brentford claimed a 2-0 home win against Brighton last season before holding them to an enthralling 3-3 draw in this corresponding fixture in April, hence a high optimism in the visiting camp. Thomas Frank’s side thumped newcomers Luton Town 3-1 at home last weekend to arrest a two-game losing streak ‘to nil’ and keep their hopes of an unlikely European finish alive, maintaining a seven-point gap on sixth-placed Newcastle United. However, the ‘Bees’ must improve their away form to boost their chances of steering higher up the table, having only won once on six Premier League travels in 2023/24 (D1, L3). Scoring has been a problem for Brentford, as they’ve averaged only 1.16 goals per away league game thus far.