Fulham vs Brighton & Hove Albion

Fulham’s wishful pursuit of the European spots pits them against one of their direct Premier League rivals, Brighton & Hove Albion, at Craven Cottage.

Despite commencing this round in the Premier League’s lower reaches, Fulham’s UEFA Conference League aspirations are still alive, especially after a stunning 2-1 win at Manchester United last weekend. Seven points adrift of their seventh-placed visitors, the Cottagers could take a massive step toward achieving their seasonal target if they can only uphold their unbeaten H2H record in the Premier League (W3, D4). While their indifferent home league form in 2024 doesn’t inspire much confidence (W1, D1, L1), they boast an eye-catching top-flight home record against this opposition (W2, D1). Connoisseurs of action-packed football should enjoy this contest, at least considering three of those three H2Hs have featured over 2.5 goals and both teams on the scoresheet, which has been the case in Fulham’s last two home outings.

On the other hand, Brighton’s confidence took a significant hit in midweek FA Cup action as they lost 1-0 to Wolverhampton, just days after eking out a last-gasp 1-1 home draw against Everton. Roberto De Zerbi’s hopes of getting his side back on track hinge on defying an underwhelming four-game away form in domestic football (W1, L3), albeit two scoring blanks during that stretch don’t look promising. That said, the Seagulls humbled rock-bottom Sheffield United 5-0 in their last Premier League away game, marking their fifth top-flight match in which they’ve bagged 4+ goals this season, a feat only bettered by Arsenal and Liverpool. Therefore, conceding first shouldn’t faze Brighton, not least because they’ve claimed the division’s third-high 14 points from losing positions this term.