Brighton & Hove Albion vs Sheffield United

Brighton & Hove Albion will be seeking their first Premier League win since September when they take on rock-bottom Sheffield United at the Amex Stadium.

Brighton took a major step toward qualifying for the Europa League knockouts with a 2-0 away win over Ajax in midweek, extending their unbeaten run in all competitions to four matches in the process (W2, D2). However, those two draws came in the Premier League, where the ‘Seagulls’ are winless in their last five outings (D3, L2), which is part of the reason they’ve fallen six points below fourth-placed Liverpool. The impending home return should inspire confidence around the Brighton camp, considering they’ve only lost once in six top-flight games at the Amex Stadium this season (W3, D2). Scoring shouldn’t be a problem for Roberto De Zerbi’s troops, as they’ve averaged 2.33 goals per home league game. But keeping a clean sheet might, given that they’re still waiting for their first top-flight shutout in East Sussex.

On the other hand, it took Sheffield United 11 rounds into the new campaign to get off the mark on their Premier League as a last-minute penalty helped them to a 2-1 home triumph over Wolverhampton last weekend. That result put a long-overdue stop on a dreadful run of nine defeats in their first ten league fixtures (D1) but failed to move them from the bottom. But given their woeful start, the ‘Blades’ can be thrilled to be trailing safety by only three points at the beginning of this round, though reducing that gap will be easier said than done. Paul Heckingbottom’s men have lost all five Premier League games on the road this season, mustering just three goals while conceding 14 in return.