Albion will look to round off their Premier League fixtures in February with a third win in four when they face Everton at the Amex on Saturday, kick-off 3pm.
Wins over Crystal Palace and Sheffield United – either side of a defeat to Tottenham – have lifted Roberto De Zerbi’s team up to seventh, while the Toffees sit outside of the relegation zone on goal difference.
Team news
Roberto De Zerbi revealed that Kaoru Mitoma may miss Saturday's game with a back injury, while also confirming that Julio Enciso will be in the matchday squad.
The head coach said, "We have a problem with Kaoru Mitoma, he has a problem with his back. I don’t know if he can play. We will analyse the situation on the next day.
"We are used to playing without important players. Julio will be on the bench though, it’s great news."
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Kaoru Mitoma’s late deflected strike ensured Albion took a point from their clash with Everton at Goodison Park in November, after Vitaly Mykolenko had put his team in front. Last season both teams enjoyed terrific wins on opposition soil with Albion beating Everton 4-1 at Goodison, before the Toffees enjoyed a 5-1 victory at the Amex, a win that proved vital in keeping Sean Dyche’s team in the Premier League.
Player to watch
Everton skipper James Tarkowski hasn’t missed a single minute of Premier League football for his team this season. The defender has led the Toffees to eight wins and six draws, which would have them in 12th place were it not for their ten point deduction.
Match facts
Everton have won their last two away league games against Brighton, as many as they had in their previous eight visits combined (D3 L3).
Nine of Brighton’s 10 Premier League wins this season have seen them score at least three goals, beating Brentford 2-1 in the other. They’ve drawn five and lost four of their nine games when scoring only once in Premier League games this term.
Everton have failed to win any of their last eight Premier League games (D4 L4) – the longest ongoing winless run in the division – having won six of their previous eight before this run (D1 L1).
Albion are unbeaten in their last 10 Premier League home games (W5 D5) since a 3-1 loss to West Ham in August. The Seagulls have both scored and conceded a goal in 14 of their last 15 at the Amex Stadium, with the exception being a goalless draw with Wolves last month.
Everton have failed to score in each of their last three Premier League away games, having found the net in each of their previous five. They last went four without a goal on the road in November 2022.
Everton have underperformed their xG by the biggest total in 2024 so far in the Premier League (-5.03, 3 goals from 8.03 xG) and the player with the biggest xG underperformance of the year so far is Toffees forward Dominic Calvert-Lewin (0 goals from 2.12 xG).
Only Arsenal (11) have scored more goals from corners than Everton (10) in the Premier League this season, while excluding penalties, 52% of the Toffees overall goals have come from set pieces (14/27), the highest share in the division this term.
Albion's Pascal Gross has been involved in ten goals in his last 13 Premier League games (2 goals, 8 assists), including four in his last three. His nine assists overall this term is the most ever by a Brighton player in a single Premier League campaign, while the last German player to reach double figures in a season was Leroy Sané in 2018-19 (10).
Danny Welbeck has been involved in eight Premier League goals against Everton (4 goals, 4 assists), only having a hand in more against West Ham (9). His goal against Sheffield United last time out was his 21st for Brighton in the Premier League, his most goals for a single side in the competition (Man Utd 20, Sunderland 6, Arsenal 16, Watford 2).
Match officials
Referee: Tony Harrington.
Assistants: Richard West, Scott Ledger.
Fourth official: Dean Whitestone.
VAR: David Coote.
Assistant VAR: Natalie Aspinall.