Brentford vs Brighton & Hove Albion

Brentford and Brighton & Hove Albion are set to lock horns in a meeting between the two out-of-sorts Premier League sides at the Gtech Community Stadium.

Brentford made a valiant attempt to end a six-game winless run in the Premier League (D1, L5) last weekend but eventually had to settle for a 1-1 home draw against Manchester United despite outperforming Erik ten Hag’s side. That result left the Bees only five points above the bottom three ahead of this round. However, they can take confidence from a last-gasp equalizer as they seek only their second home win of the season against the current top-ten sides. Worryingly for manager Thomas Frank, his men are winless in their last four home league outings (D2, L2), conceding multiple goals on three occasions. But despite losing the reverse fixture 2-1 in December, Brentford can fall back on a 2-0 win in this match-up last term.

On the other hand, Brighton took an early lead against Liverpool at the weekend but lost 2-1 at Anfield, relinquishing a two-game winning streak ‘to nil’ in all competitions. However, Roberto De Zerbi’s charges have stuttered in the Premier League of late, managing just one win in their last four league outings (D1, L2), and, as a result, commence this round six points off sixth-placed Man Utd. The situation looks even worse on the road, where the Seagulls have lost six of their last seven competitive matches (W1), including four in a row in the build-up to this trip. Unfathomably for such an entertaining squad, they’ve failed to get on the scoresheet in three of those four defeats, a negative feat they’ve only experienced once in their five previous Premier League H2Hs (W3, D1, L1).