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Preview: Brighton & Hove Albion vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers

Sports Mole previews Saturday's Championship clash between Brighton and Wolves at The Amex as the visitors look to keep the pressure on the playoffs.

Wolverhampton Wanderers will be looking to keep their playoff challenge alive when they travel to The Amex to take on Brighton & Hove Albion this weekend.

The race at the top of the table is one of the most intriguing and exciting in recent memory, and Wolves are just about hanging on the periphery of it as they look to sneak into the top six.

They are currently four points adrift of sixth-placed Brentford and three behind Ipswich Town in seventh, so Kenny Jackett's side have work to do if they are to give themselves the chance of back-to-back promotions.

They have failed to win their last two games going into this match, but both have been against teams level at the top of the table. They have plenty more big games to come too, with Derby County, Nottingham Forest, Middlesbrough and Ipswich Town all lying in wait before the end of the season.

Wolves managed to take a point off in-form Watford last weekend, making it just one defeat in their last five matches, but this Saturday's game is the type that they need to be winning if they are to catch those above them.

Consistency has been an issue away from home in recent weeks, but they haven't lost to a team currently below them in the table on the road since their opening away game of the campaign back in August.

Jackett is still without injured goalkeeper Carl Ikeme, meaning that Tomasz Kuszczak will continue between the sticks, but they have been boosted by Bakary Sako's availability after his red card against Watford was overturned.

Sako will start again alongside Benik Afobe, who has scored 26 goals in all competitions this season - a tally no other player in English football can better. Nouha Dicko is also pushing for a recall up front.

While Wolves are on the edge of a promotion battle, Brighton find themselves on the fringes of the relegation dogfight at the other end of the table.

It has been a wholly disappointing campaign for the Seagulls, but three wins in their last five matches have eased fears of the drop and put them nine points clear of the bottom three with 10 games remaining.

That gap - coupled with their superior goal difference compared to teams around them - should be adequate to keep them in the division, particularly if they can win more points from games against three of the five teams below them still to come.

Chris Hughton will have been unhappy at how his side failed to build on a recent 2-0 victory over Derby County, with Reading running out 2-1 victors on Tuesday evening at the Madejski, but it is their home form that Brighton will now be looking at to push them over the line.

They have won four of their last five league games at The Amex, including their last three, and are bidding for four straight victories in front of their own fans for the first time since April 2011.

Hughton is without Sam Baldock for the rest of the season with a knee injury, joining Solly March (calf) on the sidelines. However, Craig Mackail-Smith and Dale Stephens could be in line to return to the squad having missed the Reading game with minor knocks.

The Seagulls were just minutes away from a rare away win in the reverse fixture before Christmas, only for Danny Batth to pop up with an 88th-minute equaliser that rescued a 1-1 draw for his side.

Brighton:

Recent form: DWWLWL

Possible starting lineup: Stockdale; Bruno, Dunk, Greer, Bennett; Calderon, Ince, Kayal, Teixeira, LuaLua; O'Grady

Wolves:

Recent form: LWWWLD

Possible starting lineup: Kuszczak; Golbourne, Batth, Stearman, Doherty; Edwards, McDonald, Sako, Afobe, Van la Parra; Dicko

Sports Mole says: 1-1


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Written by
Barney Corkhill
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9Aston Villa188462629-328
10Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton186842726126
11Brentford187383232024
12Tottenham HotspurSpurs1872939261323
13West Ham UnitedWest Ham186572330-723
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18Leicester CityLeicester1835102240-1814
19Ipswich TownIpswich1826101633-1712
20Southampton1813141137-266


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