Two teams seeking to end winless runs meet for a Europa League Group B battle at the American Express Community Stadium on Thursday night, as Brighton & Hove Albion play host to managerless Ajax.
While the Seagulls have gone over four weeks without a victory in any competitions, their Dutch counterparts remarkably last tasted success at the end of August.
Match preview
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Since securing impressive back-to-back Premier League wins over Newcastle United and Manchester United in September, Brighton have suffered a dip in form as they have only won one of their last seven matches across all competitions, conceding 17 goals in the process.
Roberto De Zerbi was able to take positives from his side rescuing solitary points in 2-2 draws with Marseille and Liverpool either side of the international break, but the Seagulls were condemned to a 2-1 defeat away against treble winners Manchester City last weekend; Ansu Fati's second-half strike prove inconsequential as earlier goals from Julian Alvarez and Erling Haaland secured maximum points for the hosts.
Brighton, who have slipped to seventh in the Premier League table, have had their fair share of challenges adapting to the rigours that come with juggling domestic and European duties, with De Zerbi having to regularly rotate his squad, and there are no signs of their frantic fixture schedule slowing down any time soon as successive home clashes with Ajax and Fulham are followed by five games in the month of November which includes a two-week international break.
With just one point accumulated from their opening two matches in their debut Europa League campaign, Brighton currently sit rock bottom of Group B, one point behind Thursday's opponents Ajax and Marseille in third and second respectively, while surprise package AEK Athens boast four points at the summit.
The Seagulls could do with a victory over four-time European champions Ajax to boost their hopes of securing a top-two spot in Group B, and while scoring goals on the South Coast has not been a problem for De Zerbi's men – netting in each of their last 13 home games in all competitions – their defensive frailties could prove costly as they have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their 12 fixtures either home or away so far this season.
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Brighton's recent decline in form may be a slight cause for concern to Seagulls supporters, but they are by no means down in the dumps like the fans of Ajax, who have endured a truly miserable start to the new season across all competitions.
The Dutch giants have failed to win eight consecutive competitive games for the first time since the introduction of professional football in the Netherlands back in 1954, with a 4-3 away defeat at Utrecht proving to be the final nail in the coffin for head coach Maurice Steijn.
Ajax confirmed on Monday that Steijn has left the club by mutual consent following a four-month spell in charge during which he won only two of his 11 matches at the helm. The 49-year-old leaves the 36-time Dutch champions remarkably sitting second-bottom of the Eredivisie table with just five points from their opening seven fixtures.
Assistant coach Hedwiges Maduro has been placed in interim charge and is presented with a tricky start to his temporary reign, with Thursday's Europa League trip to Brighton followed just three days later by an Eredivisie encounter with league leaders PSV Eindhoven, who already sit 22 points clear of Ajax at this early stage of the campaign.
Ajax have struggled against English opposition in recent years, winning only one of their last seven meetings with Premier League teams in European competition, but their unbeaten group-stage run bodes well for Thursday's clash as they have not lost any of their previous 11 Europa League group matches.
Team News
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Brighton were dealt a double injury blow in the defeat at Man City as Danny Welbeck was forced off in the opening 16 minutes with a muscle problem, while Solly March was stretched off in tears after jarring his knee in the closing stages; De Zerbi has already confirmed that March will miss Thursday's game and both the winger and Welbeck are set to be out "for a long time".
Thursday's game will likely come too soon for Jakub Moder even though the midfielder has returned to training following an 18-month layoff with a troublesome knee injury, while Julio Enciso (knee), Pervis Estupinan (muscle) and Tariq Lamptey (knock) are all sidelined.
Brighton are struggling for options at left-back and in the absence of March, Estupinan and Lamptey, either former Ajax man Joel Veltman, James Milner or left-footed centre-back Igor Julio could be tasked with operating on the left side of a back four.
After scoring as a substitute last weekend, Ansu Fati will be pushing to start in attack, as will Evan Ferguson, while either Billy Gilmour or Mahmoud Dahoud could replace Carlos Baleba in centre-midfield.
As for Ajax, Devyne Rensch missed the defeat at Utrecht due to injury and will not be involved on Thursday, and the same applies for goalkeeper Jay Gorter (unspecified), Geronimo Rulli (shoulder), Sivert Mannsverk (leg) and Ahmetcan Kaplan (knee), while Georges Mikautadze has not travelled with the first-team squad to England due to illness.
However, Silvano Vos is available for selection after serving a domestic suspension last weekend, and the 18-year-old will battle with Kristian Hlynsson - who scored twice in the loss to Utrecht - Kenneth Taylor and Benjamin Tahirovic for a start in midfield.
Diant Ramaj is set to replace Gorter between the sticks, while Steven Bergwijn, Brian Brobbey and Carlos Forbs could all keep their places up front, but former Brighton striker Chuba Akpom – who spent a six-month period on loan with the Seagulls in 2017 – will be hoping to force his way into the first XI.
Brighton & Hove Albion possible starting lineup:
Verbruggen; Veltman, Dunk, Webster, Igor; Gilmour, Gross; Adingra, Fati, Mitoma; Ferguson
Ajax possible starting lineup:
Ramaj; Gaaei, Sutalo, Hato, Sosa; Taylor, Tahirovic, Vos; Forbs, Brobbey, Bergwijn
We say: Brighton & Hove Albion 3-2 Ajax
It is difficult to foresee a contest without goals at both ends between Brighton and Ajax, considering the two teams have regularly shown a threat in the final third whilst struggling to shore things up at the back so far this season.
Ajax will hope that the change in the dugout can spark an instant upturn in fortunes, but we believe that Brighton may just edge this intriguing match-up in front of their own fans to claim their maiden European victory.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Oliver Thomas
