Brighton & Hove Albion head into their EFL Cup third-round tie with Swansea City looking to build on their outstanding start to the new Premier League campaign.
While the Seagulls sit in the top four of English football's first tier, Swansea are currently down in 21st place in the Championship.
Match preview
© Reuters
If reports are to be believed, Tottenham Hotspur were among a number of clubs who opted against pulling the trigger on the appointment of Graham Potter during the summer.
However, their loss has been Brighton's gain with Potter and his squad seemingly moving up a level over the opening five weeks of the season.
The Seagulls have been efficient over entertaining, scoring just seven goals during their four wins, but it has provided the club with the springboard for better things to come during 2021-22.
Potter has always taken a different approach to EFL Cup fixtures, naming teams completely made up of prospects and Under-23 players on many occasions.
That said, with several of the players who featured during the victory over Cardiff City last month having since gone out on loan, Potter may start to view this competition as one that his side could win.
© Reuters
As far as Swansea are concerned, life under new boss Russell Martin has been somewhat of a slow burner given the success of his predecessor Steve Cooper.
However, their astonishing comeback at Luton Town could act as the catalyst that they have desperately required, the Welsh side fighting back from a three-goal half-time deficit.
Martin is unlikely to have many ambitions for this competition, but Wednesday night is a chance for some of his players to gain match fitness and play without the pressures of the second tier.
Swansea have reached this stage of the competition with comprehensive victories over Reading and Plymouth Argyle respectively.
- W
- W
- W
- W
- L
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- L
- D
- D
- D
Team News
© Reuters
Potter will almost certainly make 11 changes to his Brighton XI, potentially handing a start to Tariq Lamptey after his recent return to the substitutes bench.
Jakub Moder could deputise at left-back, while Haydon Roberts and Taylor Richards should feature at centre-back and in central midfield respectively.
With Andi Zeqiri having recently gone out on loan, Aaron Connolly is in line to lead the attack.
While Martin will not make as many alterations as his opposite number, he will likely look to bring in fresh legs in several areas.
Ben Cabango, Joel Latibeaudiere, Korey Smith, Jay Fulton and Yan Dhanda are among the players who could feature at the Amex Stadium.
Brighton & Hove Albion possible starting lineup:
Steele; Lamptey, Roberts, Burn, Moder; Mwepu, Alzate, Richards; Gross, Connolly, Mac Allister
Swansea City possible starting lineup:
Benda; Cabango, Latibeaudiere, Williams; Laird, Smith, Fulton, Manning; Dhanda, Whittaker; Piroe
We say: Brighton & Hove Albion 3-1 Swansea City
Despite the likelihood of changes being made for this contest, we still expect Brighton to come through this fixture. Swansea have the potential to cause a surprise, but competition for places should inspire a strong Seagulls performance.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Brighton & Hove Albion win with a probability of 47.07%. A win for Swansea City had a probability of 26.62% and a draw had a probability of 26.3%.
The most likely scoreline for a Brighton & Hove Albion win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.11%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.11%) and 2-0 (8.85%). The likeliest Swansea City win was 0-1 (8.53%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.46%). The actual scoreline of 2-0 was predicted with an 8.8% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Brighton & Hove Albion would win this match.
