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The first of two Premier League games comes to the Amex on Friday night when Brighton face Brentford on the south coast.
After a great start to the season, Fabian Hurzeler’s Seagulls have drifted into mid-table after enduring a rather miserable run of form. Brighton are without a win in five and without a win on home soil since they were beaten 2-1 by the champions on November 9.
Still, the tight-knit nature of the chaotic division means the Seagulls are just a few triumphs off the table which makes for much nicer reading.
Brentford have struggled on their travels this term, but Thomas Frank’s outfit have still exceeded expectations following the departure of Ivan Toney. They suffered their first home defeat of the season at the weekend and fell to 12th in the table, but many were worried in pre-season that the west Londoners would flirt with relegation talk.
However, the Bees need to start getting results on the road.
Here 90 minutes overview of the first league match on Friday.
Brighton vs Brentford H2H results (last five matches)
Current form (all competitions)
|
Brighton |
Brentford |
|---|---|
|
West Ham 1-1 Brighton – 21.12.24 |
Brentford 0-2 Nottingham Forest – 21.12.24 |
|
Brighton 1-3 Crystal Palace – 15.12.24 |
Newcastle 3-1 Brentford – 18.12.24 |
|
Leicester 2-2 Brighton – 12.08.24 |
Chelsea 2-1 Brentford – 15.12.24 |
|
Fulham 3-1 Brighton – 12.05.24 |
Brentford 4-2 Newcastle – 12.07.24 |
|
Brighton 1-1 Southampton – 29.11.24 |
Aston Villa 3-1 Brentford – 12.4.24 |
|
Earth |
TV channel/live broadcast |
|---|---|
|
Great Britain |
Amazon Prime Video |
|
United States |
Peacock |
|
Canada |
fuboTV Canada, Fubo Sports Network 2 Canada |
Hurzeler hopes to have Mats Wieffer available for the visit of Brentford after the Dutchman limped off having just scored his first goal at Brighton on Saturday. The Dutchman, if fit, will partner the excellent Carlos Baleba in the middle of the park.
Yankuba Minteh should come in for Brian Gruda on the right, and there could be recalls to the squad for Adam Webster and Solly March. Danny Welbeck, however, misses out again with an ankle injury.
The Seagulls are also without Jack Hinshelwood, James Milner and Ferdi Kadioglu for the foreseeable future.
Predicted line-up for Brighton vs Brentford (4-2-3-1): Bridge; Veltman, Van Hecke, Dunk, Estupinan; Baleba, Wieffer; Minteh, Pedro, Mitoma; Ferguson.
Brentford’s injury list is extensive and their problems only got worse at the weekend after Mads Roerslev was forced off the team with a head injury in the second half. He probably won’t play a part on Friday.
The Bees will soon be hoping to have summer signing Igor Thiago available after a long absence, but the striker is currently struggling with illness and may not feature until the new year. Ethan Pinnock, Josh Dasilva, Mathias Jensen, Rico Henry and Sepp van den Berg are also likely to return next month.
Aaron Hickey is out for a long time with a hamstring injury.
Brentford predicted line-up against Brighton (4-3-3): Stain; Ajer, Collins, Mee, Lewis-Potter; Norgaard, Janelt, Damsgaard; Mbeumo, Wissa, Carvalho.
Saturday’s defeat felt like a bad blow for Brentford after Frank rested key players for their Carabao Cup quarter-final loss to Newcastle. What was it all for?
Friday’s visitors are in a tough spot, and even though Brighton are among the Premier League’s worst performing teams in December, you get the feeling they are edging closer to victory. They were very unlucky not to get all three points at West Ham on Saturday.
While Brentford were once the type of team that could put an end to Brighton’s slick possession play and cause chaos on the counter, their poor defensive performance this season suggests the hosts should have plenty to cheer about on Friday.
This has the makings of a real game for Hurzeler’s men, with the visitors’ losing streak stretching back to four games in all competitions.
