Arsenal vs Brighton & Hove Albion Preview – Prediction, team news, line-ups

Emirates Stadium is the venue as Arsenal and Brighton & Hove Albion go head-to-head in Saturday’s Premier League fixture.

Arsenal’s bid to secure their first top-four finish since 2015/16 took another hit last time out as they fell to a dreadful 3-0 defeat at cross-town rivals Crystal Palace.

But despite losing twice across their last three league outings (W1), the Gunners enter this round level on points with fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur with a game in hand. 

Neal Maupay’s miss from the spot denied Brighton a long-awaited Premier League victory last weekend as rock-bottom Norwich City pulled off a goalless draw at the Amex Stadium.

Before sharing the spoils with one of the warmest relegation candidates, the Seagulls had suffered six consecutive top-flight reverses, falling to 13th in the Premier League table.

Match Preview

Arsenal

Arsenal succumbed to a 2-0 loss to current runners-up Liverpool in their most recent Premier League outing at the Emirates and could lose back-to-back home league matches for the first time this season.

However, the Gunners are unbeaten in their last three Premier League meetings with Brighton (W2, D1), keeping the Seagulls at bay on each occasion. 

Arsenal could only manage an underwhelming ‘nil-nil’ draw at the Amex in the reverse fixture, having found the back of the net in ten consecutive league H2Hs beforehand. 

Brighton & Hove Albion

Inspired by their recent fortunes in the nation’s capital, out-of-sorts Brighton will be looking to throw a spanner in the Londoners’ pursuit of a fourth-place finish.

The Seagulls have lost just three of their last 13 Premier League visits to London, with nine of the remaining ten such fixtures ending as a draw, five of which saw Graham Potter’s side rescue points from losing positions.

Worryingly, though, Brighton have gone winless in all of their 15 Premier League matches in April (D8, L7), with only Hull City (16) playing more games in the competition in a specific month without ever winning.

Team News

Kieran Tierney and Thomas Partey will likely be ruled out for the remainder of the season with injuries, while Takehiro Tomiyasu remains a doubt for Arsenal.

Travelling Brighton will be without Jakob Moder, who has suffered a season-ending knee injury, but Potter has an otherwise fully-fit squad at his disposal. 

Arsenal Potential Starting XI

(4-2-3-1): Aaron Ramsdale; Cedric Soares, Ben White, Gabriel Magalhaes, Nuno Tavares; Granit Xhaka, Martin Odegaard; Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe, Gabriel Martinelli; Alexandre Lacazette.

Brighton & Hove Albion Potential Starting XI

(3-4-1-2): Robert Sanchez; Joel Veltman, Lewis Dunk, Marc Cucurella; Tariq Lamptey, Yves Bissouma, Pascal Gross, Solly March; Alexis Mac Allister; Leandro Trossard, Neal Maupay.

Arsenal vs Brighton & Hove Albion Prediction

Arsenal cannot afford another slip-up against bottom-half sides if they are to maintain their grip on Champions League qualification.

Arteta’s men will be keen to bounce back from Monday’s fiasco at Selhurst Park and we back them to pour more misery on lowly Brighton. 

Arsenal 2-0 Brighton & Hove Albion