Brighton & Hove Albion will climb to second in the Premier League table if they claim maximum points in Friday night's clash with basement club Southampton at the Amex Stadium.
While the Seagulls are looking to win their third successive match, the Saints are seeking to avoid losing three league games in a row.
Match preview
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A fortnight after capitalising on Manchester City's recently-exposed flaws to secure a 2-1 comeback victory at the Amex, Brighton won by the same scoreline away against Bournemouth last weekend - their fourth win in their last six Premier League games, which is as many victories as they managed across their previous 19 league matches (D7 L8).
Joao Pedro marked his first start since August with a fourth-minute opener, before Kaoru Mitoma swept home a second shortly after the interval. The dismissal of Carlos Baleba just before the hour mark threatened to shift the momentum, and Bournemouth's David Brooks pulled one back in stoppage time before Antoine Semenyo smacked the crossbar, but the Seagulls held on for all three points.
While head coach Fabian Hurzeler is pleased to hear the Brighton supporters continue to sing about qualifying for Europe having climbed to fifth in the Premier League table - level on points with Chelsea and Arsenal in third and fourth respectively, and just one point behind Man City in second - the German has stressed that it is "important" for his team to "stay humble and stay grounded" at this stage of the campaign.
Brighton will welcome a return to the Amex where they have accumulated 12 points across a six-game unbeaten run. The Seagulls are one of only three teams along with Brentford and Liverpool who are yet to lose on home soil in the Premier League this season. They have, however, kept just four clean sheets in 15 home games in 2024.
After securing promotion to the Premier League for the first time in 2017, Brighton failed to win any of their first seven meetings with Southampton, but they have since come out on top in three of their last five and have drawn the other two, most recently winning 3-1 at the Amex in May 2023.
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Southampton supporters would have snapped your hand off to be leading 2-1 against table-toppers Liverpool heading into the final 25 minutes of last weekend's encounter at St Mary's. However, the Saints were unable to march to victory on this occasion.
Indeed, two second-half goals from Mohamed Salah turned the contest on its head, with a calamitous error for goalkeeper Alex McCarthy and a handball from substitute Yukinari Sugawara proving costly for the hosts, who were condemned to a 3-2 home loss and their 10th league defeat of the season.
A frustrated and disappointed Russell Martin lamented all three goals that were "so poor" to concede by his team, who remain rooted to the foot of the Premier League table and are five points adrift of safety after 12 matches. The Saints have scored the fewest goals (nine), while only Wolves (28) have conceded more than Martin's men (27) thus far.
Challenging fixtures against Chelsea, Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool in the EFL Cup are on the horizon for Southampton, but they must first shift their focus to Friday's contest with a Brighton outfit whom they have suffered defeat against in just one of their last six away meetings (W3 D2).
The Saints have also scored in all 12 Premier League encounters with the Seagulls - the most that they have faced an opponent while scoring every time in the division - while they have only lost one of their last seven top-flight fixtures played on a Friday (W4 D2), so there is reason for the South-coast club to be optimistic of success at the Amex.
Team News
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Brighton will be without injured duo James Milner (thigh) and Solly March (knee), while Lewis Dunk (calf), Jack Hinshelwood (knee), Ferdi Kadioglu (toe), Tariq Lamptey (calf), Adam Webster (thigh) and Yankuba Minteh (muscle) are all doubtful and will be assessed ahead of kickoff.
The absence of suspended midfielder Baleba and uncertainty over the fitness of Hinshelwood could therefore see Matt O'Riley handed his first Premier League start in the middle of the pitch alongside either Yasin Ayari or Mats Wieffer.
Georginio Rutter was moved out wide to allow Joao Pedro to take up a central role against Bournemouth, and he could continue on the right, although Simon Adingra will be hoping to force his way into the first XI.
As for Southampton, they are still having to cope without goalkeepers Aaron Ramsdale (finger) and Gavin Bazunu (Achilles), while Jan Bednarek (knee), Ross Stewart and William Smallbone (both hamstring) are also in the treatment room.
Ex-Brighton man Adam Lallana and Paul Onuachu have emerged as major doubts after they sustained respective hamstring and knee injuries in the defeat to Liverpool.
The expected absence of Lallana could see Joe Aribo handed a start in centre-midfield alongside Matheus Fernandes, who scored against Liverpool, while Adam Armstrong - who also made the net ripple last weekend - may be joined in attack by Tyler Dibling and either Cameron Archer or Ben Brereton Diaz.
Brighton & Hove Albion possible starting lineup:
Verbruggen; Veltman, Van Hecke, Igor, Estupinan; Wieffer, O'Riley; Rutter, Pedro, Mitoma; Welbeck
Southampton possible starting lineup:
McCarthy; Walker-Peters, Harwood-Bellis, Downes, Stephens, Manning; Aribo, Fernandes; Dibling, Archer, Armstrong
We say: Brighton & Hove Albion 3-1 Southampton
Southampton may be the Premier League's lowest scorers after 12 games this season, but they have found the net in each of their last seven visits to Brighton in all competitions, scoring 10 times in total and twice on three occasions, so they will fancy their chances of success in the final third on Friday.
Keeping the ball out at the other end has been a real issue for a mistake-prone Saints side, though, and it is difficult to back against a high-flying Seagulls outfit outscoring their opponents en route to securing all three points on home soil.
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