Brighton & Hove Albion vs Arsenal Predictions
Arsenal look to maintain their perfect early-season form when they take on Brighton at the AMEX on Saturday.
The Seagulls have made a positive start to the new campaign, but the EPL champions have enough quality to return home with another away win.
I'm banking on the Gunners to claim the points, and I also expect BTTS this weekend.
Gunners on Fire
- Brighton scored an average of 3.33 goals per game in their last 6 matches
- Brighton lost 4 of their last 6 home matches against Arsenal
- Arsenal won 12 of their last 13 matches (competitive fixtures)
- Arsenal won 5 of their last 7 matches against Brighton
- Arsenal have seen BTTS in 2 of their last 3 matches (domestic fixtures)
Arsenal Lead Brighton in Recent H2H
Brighton & Hove Albion and Arsenal have met on ten occasions since 2020. Arsenal secured six wins while Brighton bagged two victories.
Arsenal edged to a 1-0 win in their most recent meeting at the American Express Stadium in March.
Three of their last five meetings also finished with both teams on the scoresheet.
Brighton Look to Build on Cup Comeback
Brighton return to the AMEX after a sensational 3-2 Carabao Cup victory against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Wednesday.
Trailing 2-0 at the break, second-half goals from Charalampos Kostoulas, Pascal Gross and Maxim De Cuyper completed a remarkable comeback for Fabian Hurzeler's side.
No side had recovered from a two-goal deficit to win at Old Trafford since 1972.
The Seagulls have made an impressive start to the season, picking up four wins while losing only one of seven competitive fixtures.
Hugely impressive in front of goal, Brighton bagged 20 goals in their six most recent fixtures, including big wins against Coventry (5-0), Tromso and Aston Villa (both 4-0). They also scored three in a thrilling 4-3 defeat at Chelsea.
Four games into the EPL campaign, Brighton sit fifth in the division with seven points collected.
Arsenal Maintain Perfect League Start
Arsenal travel to the south coast after a convincing 4-2 Carabao Cup victory at Ipswich Town on Tuesday.
Teenager star Max Dowman scored twice, while Noni Madueke and Mikel Merino also found the net as the visitors eased to an entertaining cup success.
Both teams created plenty of opportunities, but the Gunners looked in control at Portman Road.
Ipswich performed well in a game where both sides heavily rotated their starting XIs, but the visitors registered more efforts on goal (12-8) and edged the xG battle (1.64-1.56).
Mikel Arteta's in-form side have won all seven competitive fixtures played this season.
Going back to the end of the 25/26 campaign, the Gunners have won 12 of their last 13 competitive fixtures, averaging just under two goals per game.
Brighton & Hove Albion vs Arsenal Team News
Brighton: (4-2-3-1) Bart Verbruggen; Ferdi Kadioglu, Luka Vuskovic, Lewis Dunk, Olivier Boscagli; Pascal Gross, Yasin Ayari; Diego Gomez, Malick Junior Yalcouye, Maxim De Cuyper; Charalampos Kostoulas.
Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler has a lengthy list of absentees this weekend.
Evan Ferguson, Jack Hinshelwood, Kaoru Mitoma, Mats Wieffer, Michael Svoboda, Stefanos Tzimas, Yankuba Minteh and Zadok Yohanna are all expected to miss out.
Jaouen Hadjam also faces a late fitness test.
Asked why Brighton continue to outperform expectations, Hurzeler pointed to the club’s structure and ambition.
"We are a club that is well structured,’ he told a post-match press conference. ‘We are a club, and I think it’s very important to emphasise this, that has had high expectations.
We want to grow, and we want to challenge the establishment in a consistent way, and for that I think it’s very important to understand”
Arsenal: (4-2-3-1) David Raya; Jurrien Timber, Ezri Konsa, Gabriel, Riccardo Calafiori; Declan Rice, Myles Lewis-Skelly; Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Christos Tzolis; Kai Havertz.
Mikel Arteta has some defensive issues to deal with ahead of the trip to the AMEX.
Ben White remains doubtful with a groin problem, while Cristhian Mosquera is still working back to full fitness. William Saliba remains a long-term absentee with a back injury.
Arteta praised his side for their performance in the midweek EFL Cup win at Ipswich.
“I'm really pleased with a lot of things that we've done tonight – the way we attacked the game, how dominant, fluent and aggressive we were right from the beginning to try to influence the results.
We scored two very early goals that gave us a great platform for the game, and individually some big performances as well. Some debuts tonight, which is great to see as well. So, we take a lot of positives from the night.”