Neighbourly duel in the midfield of the league!

The Premier League is dealing with a lot of infections at the moment, with a number of matches cancelled recently. On the traditional Boxing Day, however, play is expected to continue almost as usual. Brighton and Hove Albion will want to use this game to distance themselves from rivals and promoted Brentford.

It’s a mid-table clash in the league between these two sides. Ahead of Brighton v Brentford, the odds show the hosts have a slight advantage, but Brentford have shown great stability this season, their own way is working and should continue to do so.

Naturally, the preparation of both teams has been disturbed by some imponderables, nevertheless, both teams should be consolidated enough to be able to show their typical face. The match kicks off on Sunday 26 December at 9pm.

Brighton – Statistics & current form

Brighton play extremely exciting football at times under coach Graham Potter, with plenty of playmaking class, but goal-scoring is not quite their big strength. Even in pre-season, effort and return were often not well matched and in recent weeks that has been evident again. Too often the Seagulls play more than decent, too often you look at the end and wonder how the game wasn’t won. With just over 10% of chances converted, Brighton have the third weakest chance conversion rate in the league.

At least: the team hardly loses any games even in the difficult period. Brighton have been without a win for eleven games, but eight of those games ended in a draw, so the team has at least secured a few points. Accordingly, the winning streak hardly scratches their self-confidence. In addition, the betting odds before the Brighton vs Brentford match show that the hosts are the favourites in this mid-table duel.

The plan of the hosts now is to somehow repair the poor statistics on Boxing Day. Brighton have not managed to win any of their last eleven games here. That should now change.

Brighton go for continuity

The team will certainly not change too much. Small adjustments are necessary due to the upcoming programme, however, the team continues to rely on continuity and the typical alignment. This means that eleven days after the last game, a 0-1 defeat at home to Wolves, a 4-1-4-1 style will be sent out onto the pitch and the main focus will be on creating chances in a controlled manner.

Now it is also important to take those chances. The problem is obvious, poor chance-taking has been an issue. In none of the last six games did the Seagulls score more than one goal, and that has to change. It is therefore no coincidence that only one player has more than three goals to his name.

In any case, it should be a close game with Brighton having more possession. Since this possession also comes with a certain defensive control and it cannot be expected that suddenly the chance conversion will significantly improve, our prediction before the Brighton vs Brentford game is that less than 2.5 goals will be scored.

Predicted Brighton line-up:
Sanchez – Lamptey, Duffy, Burn, Cucurella – Bissouma, Mwepu, March, Lallana, Trossard – Connolly

Last Brighton games:

Premier League
12/15 2021 – Brighton 0 – 1 Wolverhampton

12/04 2021 – Southampton 1 – 1 Brighton

12/01 2021 – West Ham 1 – 1 Brighton

11/27 2021 – Brighton 0 – 0 Leeds

11/20 2021 – Aston Villa 2 – 0 Brighton

Brentford – Statistics & current form

For a promoted team, Brentford FC are playing a good season. The season already started very pleasantly, because right at the beginning Arsenal could be defeated with 2-0. With 20 points from 16 games, the Bees are quite satisfied, and every now and then a bigger club can be annoyed. The gap to the relegation places is currently relatively comfortable and the main goal, i.e. to stay in the league, seems to be more than realistic.

In addition, good experiences have been made with this opponent in the last direct duels. Brentford won two of the last three games at Brighton. Nevertheless, the underdog role for the guests remains, the tactical approach will be interesting. Brighton, as we have already explained, like to play in possession and with a lot of control. Brentford rely on flexibility, can counterattack very well, but also hold the ball themselves sometimes.

So it depends on how Brentford react to the phases of high pressure. In addition, special attention should be paid in the final phase, Brighton is particularly dangerous here, already scored several times in the last minutes of a game.

Brentford: The form is not bad

While Brentford lost 2-0 to Chelsea FC in the EFL Cup during the week, in general their form in recent weeks can be considered good. In the Premier League, the Bees have lost only one of their last five games, picking up eight points in that time.

However, the away record of the last few weeks was capable of improvement. Brentford have failed to win four matches away from home in a row, conceding ten goals in the process. This is one of the reasons why the promoted team will also try to put more emphasis on compactness. For this reason, our value tip before the Brighton vs Brentford match is that not both teams will score in the end. Nuances are likely to be decisive.

Predicted line-up of Brentford:
Fernandez – Jansson, Pinnock, Ajer – Rasmussen, Janelt, Onyeka, Henry, Bidstrup – Wissa, Mbeumo

Last matches played by Brentford:

Carabao Cup
12/22 2021 – Brentford 0 – 2 Chelsea London

Premier League
12/10 2021 – Brentford 2 – 1 Watford

12/05 2021 – Leeds 2 – 2 Brentford

12/02 2021 – Tottenham 2 – 0 Brentford

11/28 2021 – Brentford 1 – 0 Everton

Brighton – Brentford Direct comparison / H2H record

27 times the two teams have faced each other directly, Brentford with eleven wins have a very slight advantage over Brighton, who have ten wins. Consequently, there have been six games that have ended in draws.

Brighton – Brentford Tip

The hosts go into the match as slight favourites, but in general it can be a very close duel between these two teams. The form speaks more for Brentford, though, with Brighton looking very stable even with a longer series without a win.

Two very interesting styles of play come together in this clash. Control meets variability, both want to try to operate compactly. Therefore, our tip before the Brighton vs Brentford match is that less than 2.5 goals will be scored.