Brighton vs Arsenal – Match preview and team news | OneFootball

Arsenal head to the South Coast on Wednesday night, aiming to maintain their grip on the Premier League title race against a Brighton & Hove Albion side finding form at a critical moment.

The Gunners enter this midweek fixture in commanding form, unbeaten in their last nine matches and fresh from back-to-back London derby victories over Tottenham and Chelsea. While Arsenal currently hold a five-point lead over Manchester City, Pep Guardiola’s side have a game in hand, leaving the Gunners with little room for error. Arsenal’s clinical nature in away games has improved significantly recently; they averaged just 1.2 goals per game on the road between August and December, but that figure has surged to 2.3 per match since the turn of the year.

Brighton & Hove Albion, meanwhile, appear to have moved past a difficult winter spell that saw them go winless in six matches between January and February. Fabian Hürzeler’s side has secured consecutive victories over Brentford and Nottingham Forest, moving them to 11th in the table and reigniting their European aspirations. The Seagulls have a historic knack for frustrating the league leaders, having won two of their last four Premier League home games against the team starting the day at the top of the table.

Brighton vs Arsenal – Match preview and team news

Team News

Brighton

The Seagulls will assess Mats Wieffer, who was forced off late in the win over Forest, with Joel Veltman ready to deputise. Yasin Ayari is nearing a return from a shoulder problem and faces a late test. However, Adam Webster and Stefanos Tzimas are both ruled out for the season with knee injuries. Veteran James Milner remains available despite the quick turnaround.

Arsenal

Mikel Arteta is hopeful that Declan Rice will be available after a knock forced him off against Chelsea, noting the midfielder felt “much better” on Monday. Kai Havertz and Martin Ødegaard are both pushing to be involved, though their conditions will be assessed late. David Raya is fit to start, but Ben White, Mikel Merino, and Max Dowman are expected to remain sidelined.

Form

Brighton

Brighton have secured more wins in their last two games than they had in their previous 13 combined (W1 D6 L6). Notably, the Seagulls have suffered just two home defeats all season, though they have won only two of their last eight at the Amex. Forward Danny Welbeck has already matched his career-best of 10 Premier League goals this term; one more would see him join an elite group of players scoring 10+ goals in a season for the first time while aged 35 or older.

Arsenal

The Gunners are unbeaten in their last 19 evening Premier League matches (7pm or later), a run stretching back to December 2023. Notably, set-pieces remain Arsenal’s most potent weapon; they have equalled the Premier League record for goals from corners in a single season (16). Furthermore, of the 20 times Arsenal have opened the scoring this season, 13 of those goals have come from a set-piece or penalty—the joint-most in the competition’s history.

Predicted Lineups

Brighton Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Verbruggen; Veltman, Dunk, Van Hecke, Kadioglu; Gross, Baleba; Gomez, Hinshelwood, Mitoma; Welbeck

Arsenal Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Raya; Mosquera, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; Havertz, Zubimendi, Lewis-Skelly; Saka, Gyokeres, Martinelli

How to Watch Brighton vs Arsenal?

The match will be televised live in the UK on TNT Sports 2. Coverage begins at 19:00 GMT ahead of the 19:30 kick-off.

Read more- Man Utd boss Carrick says set-piece grappling has ‘gone too far’

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