Albion take on title-chasing Arsenal this Sunday at the Emirates, kick-off 4.30pm.
Prior to our first home defeat in six against Everton on Monday, we had enjoyed four wins in our previous six Premier League matches.
That includes victories on the road at Bournemouth and Chelsea, which has helped us pass our record points total in the top-tier with five games still to play – we are currently on 55, four better off than our final total last season.
While our away from has been impressive, with seven wins from 16 games on the road, it will take something special to take points off Arsenal at the Emirates.
Only Manchester City (49) and Liverpool (43) have taken more points at home this season than the Gunners (42), with both north-west sides having played a game more.
The only team to win at the Emirates in the Premier League this season is Manchester City when Mikel Arteta's team suffered a 3-1 loss back in February.
Team news
At his pre-match press conference, Roberto De Zerbi said, "We will organise the squad on Saturday but Adam Webster and Solly March are not able to play but Evan Ferguson is available which is good news, he is a unique player for us. We have five games left and we have to organise game by game. We will need everyone."
Our last meeting
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Albion looked set to finish 2022 with a thumping at the Amex, as we found ourselves 3-0 down after 47 minutes against the Gunners. Kaoru Mitoma and Evan Ferguson scored either side of Gabriel Martinelli finding the back of the net to make it 4-2, and had Mitoma’s late effort not been ruled out for a marginal offside it may well have been a grandstand finish.
Player to watch
Gabriel Martinelli 🤝 Martin Odegaard
— Premier League (@premierleague) May 8, 2023
Two @Arsenal players have scored 15+ goals in the same #PL season for the first time pic.twitter.com/LqaMcEoPfV
Arsenal skipper Martin Odegaard has been one of the key influences during the Gunners’ fantastic season. While his 15 goals and eight assists make for phenomenal reading, his overall play in the centre of the park saw him win the Premier League Player of the Month award in December, and he will almost certainly be in the running for the PFA Player of the Year accolade.
Match stats
Following their 4-2 win at the Amex Stadium in December, Arsenal are looking to complete the Premier League double over Brighton for just the second time (also 2020-21).
Brighton have won three of their last four away games against Arsenal in all competitions (L1), including a 3-1 victory in this season's Carabao Cup. The Seagulls had been winless in their first eight visits to the Gunners before this run (D2 L6).
Brighton have lost nine of their 10 Premier League away games against sides starting the day in the top two, with the exception being a 2-2 draw against Liverpool in October 2021. They have conceded 23 goals in those 10 matches, while scoring just six in reply.
After losing 1-5 at home to Everton last time out, Albion could suffer consecutive Premier League defeats for only a second time this season (previously in October). Away from home, the Seagulls have lost two of their last three league games (W1), as many as their previous 10 beforehand (W4 D4 L2).
Arsenal have won five of their last six league games at the Emirates (D1), scoring at least three goals in all six such games; only two sides have ever scored 3+ goals in more consecutive Premier League home games – Manchester United (7 from December 2009 to March 2010) and Manchester City (10 from April to October 2022).
Arsenal have won 25 of their 35 Premier League games this season (D6 L4); only in 1930-31 (28), 1970-71 (29), 2001-02 (26) and 2003-04 (26) have they ever won more league matches in a single campaign, with the Gunners winning the title in all four of those seasons.
| Pos | Team | Pld | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
5
|
LIV
|
38 | +28 | 67 |
|
6
|
Albion
|
38 | +19 | 62 |
|
7
|
AVL
|
38 | +5 | 61 |
Brighton’s 27 Premier League matches under Roberto De Zerbi have seen 92 goals (52 for, 40 against). Among managers to take charge of 20+ games in the competition’s history, only John Gorman’s matches have had a higher goal rate (3.50 – 147 goals in 42 games) than the Italian’s (3.41).
Arsenal captain Martin Ødegaard has been involved in four goals in his four Premier League games against Brighton (2 goals, 2 assists), both scoring and assisting in the Gunners' 4-2 win against them in December. The Norwegian has scored five goals in his last five Premier League appearances overall.
Arsenal are averaging 1.9 points-per-game and a 50% win rate in the Premier League this season when defender William Saliba hasn’t played (P8 W4 D3 L1), compared to 2.4 points-per-game and a 78% win rate when he has featured (P27 W21 D3 L3). The Gunners concede twice as many goals-per-game on average when he hasn’t played (1.8) versus when he has (0.9) this term, also facing more shots-per-game without him (11.8) than with him (8.3).
Alexis Mac Allister has scored 10 Premier League goals this season, more than any Brighton player, while the only player to score more in a season in the competition for the Seagulls is Glenn Murray, who netted 12 in 2017-18 and 13 in 2018-19.
Match officials
Referee: Andy Madley.
Assistants: Constantine Hatzidakis, Nick Hopton.
Fourth official: Darren England.
VAR: Peter Bankes.
Assistant VAR: Wade Smith.