Breaking:Brighton & Hove Albion vs. Arsenal: lineups, team news, and predictions

Brighton & Hove Albion vs. Arsenal: lineups, team news, and predictions. 

 

 

Saturday’s Premier League fixture takes place at the Amex Stadium on the South Coast, where Brighton & Hove Albion aim to upset title-chasing Arsenal once again.

In their recent goalless draw against Brentford, Brighton struggled to break

through, while Arsenal managed a 2-0 victory over Luton Town despite a less-than-stellar performance.

Brighton’s outing against Brentford resulted in a new club record, albeit an

unwanted one, as they recorded their highest number of shots without scoring in a Premier League away game. Despite

having 24 shots on target, Roberto De Zerbi’s side failed to capitalize on scoring opportunities, including a penalty decision that went against them.

Despite these setbacks, Brighton remains in contention for a place in Europe for the 2024-25 season, sitting in ninth place, just two points behind seventh-placed West Ham United. Their home form has

been particularly impressive, with a 14-game unbeaten streak at the Amex Stadium since September’s Europa League defeat to AEK Athens. In their recent home fixtures, they secured

narrow victories against Nottingham Forest and Roma, without conceding multiple goals in front of their home fans throughout 2024.

However, the last team to score more than once against Brighton’s defense at the Amex Stadium was Tottenham

Hotspur, who netted twice in a 4-2 defeat at the end of December. Unlike their rivals, Arsenal boast resilience on the road.

Arsenal secured their fourth consecutive away clean sheet in a tense Easter Sunday encounter against title rivals

Manchester City. While their conservative style of play attracted criticism, they returned to scoring form against Luton in midweek.

Martin Odegaard’s precise strike and Daiki Hashioka’s own goal secured a comfortable victory for Arsenal before halftime. Despite not dominating their

newly-promoted opponents, Arteta’s side managed to secure a win without exerting too much energy.

With nine wins from their last ten Premier League games in 2024, Arsenal

reclaimed the top spot in the standings. They will maintain this position if Liverpool fails to defeat 20th-placed

Sheffield United on Thursday. As they head south to face Brighton, Arsenal aim for their fourth consecutive clean sheet in all competitions.

Arsenal currently lead the league in points (30), goals scored (34), and fewest

goals conceded (11) away from home. Their upcoming match against Brighton comes four months after a routine 2-0

victory at the Emirates Stadium. However, Arsenal has not recorded back-to-back wins against Brighton since the 2020-21 season.

Two young attackers were noticeably absent from Brighton’s lineup against Brentford. Irish striker Evan Ferguson, who has reportedly attracted interest from Arsenal, was sidelined due to an

ankle injury. Additionally, Ansu Fati was left out for tactical reasons as he was not deemed to be in the “right condition” to play in the Premier League, according to De Zerbi.

 

While Ferguson’s availability for the Arsenal match remains uncertain, Solly March (knee), Kaoru Mitoma (back), Billy Gilmour (knee), and Jack Hinshelwood (ankle) are all unavailable. James Milner is also recovering from a thigh concern.

Brighton has made a whopping 114 changes to their starting lineup this season, the highest in the Premier

League. Another round of alterations could see former Arsenal attacker Danny Welbeck return to the starting lineup.

For Arsenal, the absence of top scorer Bukayo Saka was notable in the midweek match. Saka limped out of the draw against Manchester City with fatigue but

was expected to be available for the Luton game after training earlier in the week. However, a late flare-up ruled him out, although Arteta remains hopeful

that Saka will recover in time for Saturday’s match. ACL victim Jurrien Timber is expected to miss out through injury.

 

Emile Smith Rowe, who played a significant role in both goals in the midweek match, is likely to make way for a refreshed Declan Rice in the starting lineup.

 

Possible starting lineup for Brighton & Hove Albion:

Verbruggen; Lamptey, Dunk, Van Hecke, Estupinan; Baleba, Gross; Adingra, Moder, Enciso; Welbeck

 

Possible starting lineup for Arsenal:

Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Kiwior; Odegaard, Jorginho, Rice; Saka, Havertz, Martinelli

Brighton’s home form has been impressive in 2024, but the absence of the unpredictable Mitoma is noticeably impacting their attacking prowess, which is concerning ahead of facing the Premier League’s defensive stalwarts away from home.

 

With several regular starters rejuvenated after midweek breaks,

Arsenal only need to raise their intensity slightly to secure another three points and reclaim the top spot in the league standings.

 

 

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