Brighton top the table for one night?
If you had to pick a surprise team in the English Premier League after four match days, the choice would definitely go to Brighton Hove & Albion. The Seagulls have picked up ten points so far, making them one of the elite group of five teams that are still completely unbeaten on the road.
This series should continue during the week if possible. Then the in-form charges of coach Graham Potter are guests in the capital. Given recent impressions, it’s no surprise that lower odds are being offered on the away side ahead of Fulham vs Brighton.
However, the promoted side from west London should not be underestimated, as the Whites have picked up an impressive four points from their first two home games of the new Premier League season, scoring an even more impressive five goals of their own.
However, it is doubtful whether this average can be maintained against the so far stable defence of the coastal cities. It seems more realistic to predict a maximum of three goals between Fulham and Brighton. Exactly then, the visitors would also have a good chance of taking away something worthwhile.
Fulham – Statistics & current form
It took until matchday four before promoted Fulham conceded their first league defeat of the season. Although the Cottagers took the lead through Mitrovic on Saturday night in their visit to unbeaten leaders Arsenal, coach Marco Silva’s side ended up without a point. Ödegaard equalised after just over an hour, and centre-back Gabriel, who had made the mistake to make it 0:1, even scored the 2-1 winner in the thrilling final phase.
Nevertheless, five points after four matches reads very tidy for the club that never managed to avoid relegation in their last three attempts in the Premier League. Eleventh place in the intermediate rankings also leads to satisfaction, as do the six goals already scored. Four of these six goals were scored by the aforementioned Mitrovic. Should the Serbian life insurance of the Londoners also get the ball over the opponent’s goal line on Tuesday evening, the odds between Fulham and Brighton will be 2.75 at the top.
Will Mitrovic and Co. find good attacking solutions at home again?
In our eyes, betting on the brawny attacker, who will represent his home country at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar this winter, is to be taken with a pinch of salt, however, as they are up against an extremely compact opponent who clearly have their strengths in playing against the ball.
Unlike in the first two home games this season, when the promoted side benefited from the attacking approach of their respective opponents against Liverpool (2-2) and Brentford (3-2), other virtues are required during the week. For this reason, we recommend betting on sub-par goals in the Fulham vs Brighton clash. At the same time, we wouldn’t be surprised if Portuguese coach Marco Silva’s side go without a goal of their own for the second time in five attempts.
Because the derby on Saturday took a lot of energy and the players might have suffered a little mental strain after the squandered lead, changes in personnel cannot be ruled out. Harry Wilson and Manor Solomon are definitely out injured. Summer additions Issa Diop and Kevin Mbabu, meanwhile, are candidates for a starting berth, although that would mean the coach changing his back four in two positions.
Predicted Fulham line-up:
Leno; Robinson, Mbabu, Adarabioyo, Tete; Palhinha, Reed; Cairney, Pereira, Decordova-Reid; Mitrovic
Last matches played by Fulham:
Premier League
27/08/2022 – Arsenal FC 2 – 1 Fulham
Carabao Cup
24/08/2022 – Crawley 2 – 0 Fulham
Premier League
20/08/2022 – Fulham 3 – 2 Brentford
13/08/2022 – Wolverhampton 0 – 0 Fulham
06/08/2022 – Fulham 2 – 2 Liverpool FC
Brighton – Statistics & current form
Brighton currently sit fourth in the English Premier League behind Arsenal, Manchester City and Tottenham, but ahead of Chelsea, Manchester United or Liverpool. Even if it is only a snapshot after four match days, it can already be stated that the team of coach Graham Potter has obviously made a big leap in development compared to the previous season.
Particularly remarkable are the defensive values that the Seagulls have packed onto the green pitch so far. Only in the opening game at Old Trafford with Manchester United did keeper Sánchez have to make a save. However, the goal he scored in the surprising 2-1 away win was of no significance. In other words: The Blue and Whites have never been behind at any point this season. If you want to take this fact as an opportunity, you can bet 1.83 at BildBet that the Potter team will score the first goal of the game on Tuesday evening as well.
Brighton convincing all along the line so far
Because the East Sussex side have won both of their away games so far and also got the better of Leeds United at home last weekend thanks to a goal from German Pascal Groß, their confidence is almost at boiling point. At the moment, almost everything is working. Defensively, they are allowing almost nothing, offensively the Seagulls are convincing on the one hand through efficiency, on the other hand through very dangerous standards.
It is also worth mentioning that Brighton were already a strong away team last season. Only four of 19 away games were lost in 2021/22. In the separate visitors’ table, the Potter eleven finished in an outstanding fifth place. Only four teams conceded fewer goals than the Blue and Whites, who are therefore rightly favourites at Craven Cottage in our opinion.
The absence of Lallana, Sarmiento and Moder due to injury does not change anything. The squad is broad enough and because things are going well anyway, the Blue and Whites can travel to the capital without any pressure, we are convinced that even rotation changes in the starting eleven will not affect the unbeaten streak of last year’s ninth-placed team.
Predicted Brighton line-up:
Sanchez; Veltman, Webster, Dunk, Lamptey; March, Mac Allister, Caicedo, Trossard; Gros, Welbeck
Last Brighton games:
Premier League
27/08/2022 – Brighton 1 – 0 Leeds
Carabao Cup
25/08/2022 – Forest Green 0 – 3 Brighton
Premier League
21/08/2022 – West Ham 0 – 2 Brighton
13/08/2022 – Brighton 0 – 0 Newcastle
07/08/2022 – Manchester United 1 – 2 Brighton
Fulham – Brighton Direct Comparison / H2H Record
These clubs are not the big traditional duel. While there have already been 20 meetings in the second-tier Championship, they have only crossed paths four times in England’s top division. On the positive side for the Londoners, however, none of these four encounters was lost. In addition to one win, there were three draws. The most recent two direct duels in the 2020/21 season also ended without a winner. In both cases, the clubs even parted with a goalless draw. We don’t expect many goals on Tuesday evening either.
Fulham – Brighton Tip
Two teams who can certainly live with their start to the season so far face each other at Craven Cottage in the west of the capital on Tuesday evening as part of matchday five in the Premier League. Promoted Fulham conceded their first defeat at the weekend at the fourth attempt, but still have a tidy five points to their name. Brighton even have double the number of points.
The Seagulls have already won three games and have only conceded one goal. Recently, keeper Sánchez even kept the clean sheet three times in a row. The two away games were also victorious. Especially away from home, the Potter team continues where they left off in the pre-season as the fifth best visiting team in the English top flight.
In view of these impressions and numbers, we can definitely understand the bookmakers’ assessment that Fulham are underdogs against Brighton according to the betting odds. The Seagulls will travel to London with a broad chest to continue their unbeaten streak. Their strength of form combined with a very solid defence will pose bigger problems for a Silva team with a tiring derby in their bones.
