Sports Mole previews Friday’s Premier League clash between Brighton & Hove Albion and Brentford, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Brighton & Hove Albion welcome Brentford to the Amex in one of two games being played after Boxing Day in the Premier League.
Both are in poor form after brilliant starts put them in European contention, with just one win between them in their last five each.
Match preview
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An excellent start under Fabian Hurzeler had Brighton fans dreaming of a return to Europe after just one season away.
However, things have turned sour pretty quickly, with the Seagulls now on a five-game winless run, which included a humbling 3-1 defeat at home to rivals Crystal Palace.
Despite taking the lead against both Leicester City and West Ham United recently too, they could only manage a draw in both, seeing them fall to 10th.
Brighton are still only six points off the top four though, and two behind Manchester City in the final European place, with form here helping them to a fine start.
The Palace defeat was their first of the season at the Amex at the eighth attempt, and they now face a team they are still yet to lose against at home in three previous Premier League meetings.
Tightening up defensively will be of big help to Hurzeler, especially with Aston Villa and Arsenal on the horizon after this encounter.
Of Brighton’s 20 matches this season in all competition, 16 have seen both teams score, and the last two iterations of this fixture at the Amex have produced nine goals.
A repeat could be on the cards, because despite being in the bottom half, Brentford are still one of the league’s highest scorers.
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They were unable to find the net last weekend though, losing 2-0 at home to Nottingham Forest, the first time they have lost and not scored at home in the Premier League this season.
The only other occasions where Brentford had not found the net in a game this season were away to Liverpool, and away to Everton, where they played over half of the game with 10 men.
That has contributed to a run of four defeats in five games, with form quickly unravelling for Thomas Frank‘s men, because if home form starts to evade them, they have nothing to fall back on away from the Gtech.
Their solitary away point is the lowest in the PL this season, and only Everton (10) have fewer away points across the whole of 2024 than Brentford’s 11.
Brighton & Hove Albion Premier League form:
Brentford Premier League form:
Brentford form (all competitions):
Team News
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Brighton’s Danny Welbeck is struggling to stay fit, now having missed the last two games after briefly returning in the draw with Leicester.
Mats Wieffer picked up a knock shortly after scoring away to West Ham last week and is a doubt for this one, but Jack Hinshelwood and Ferdi Kadioglu are both in contention to return after recent setbacks.
Matt O’Riley was back in the squad last weekend but did not get on to the pitch, while Solly March has been in full training recently, on his long road to recovery from a serious knee injury.
Brentford’s nine absentees ranks as one of the highest in the league at present, with Frank making the bold claim that he could field a “very strong starting XI on the sidelines”.
Mads Roerslev should be fit after being forced off late on against Forest due to a cut on his head, while Sepp van den Berg is also in contention following a groin issue.
Fellow defenders Kristoffer Ajer and Ethan Pinnock are both out until 2025 though, joining Rico Henry, Aaron Hickey, Igor Thiago and Josh Dasilva on the treatment table.
Mathias Jensen is also out injured and will not be fit in time for this one, but Frank has revealed he is making very good progress, meaning he could be back before the end of the year.
Brighton & Hove Albion possible starting lineup:
Verbruggen; Veltman, Van Hecke, Dunk, Estupinan; Baleba, Ayari; Minteh, Joao Pedro, Mitoma; Ferguson
Brentford possible starting lineup:
Flekken; Roerslev, Collins, Mee, Van den Berg; Janelt, Norgaard, Damsgaard; Mbeumo, Wissa, Lewis-Potter
We say: Brighton & Hove Albion 2-2 Brentford
Brentford’s dreadful away form in comparison to stunning home results has been one of the most peculiar phenomenons this season, but with the quality at their disposal, there is no reason they cannot get anything here.
Brighton are currently in a rut and need a win before a tricky run of games against Villa and Arsenal, but this should be a close game against two strong attacking teams.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
