High-flying Sunderland travel to wounded Brighton in Premier League top-half tussle | OneFootball

Sunderland continue their unlikely but increasingly convincing Premier League adventure on Saturday when they travel to the Amex Stadium to face Brighton & Hove Albion in a meeting of two sides now jostling for similar territory in the top half of the table.

This will be the first Premier League fixture between the clubs and it arrives with Sunderland sitting above their hosts after last weekend’s emotionally charged 1-0 victory over Newcastle United.

That derby success lifted the Black Cats into the top eight and reinforced the sense that their early-season momentum has developed into something more stable rather than fleeting.

Regis Le Bris’s side have collected 26 points from their opening 16 matches, a return that places them among the most productive promoted teams of the modern Premier League era and keeps them firmly in the conversation for European contention at this stage.

Their progress has been built on defensive discipline and emotional control, with five clean sheets already this season and an ability to manage difficult phases without losing structure.

However, Sunderland’s away form remains an area that requires improvement, with only two wins on the road so far, and the Amex Stadium represents one of the league’s more demanding environments.

Brighton arrive wounded rather than broken after a three-match winless run that has stalled their upward momentum, including defeats to Aston Villa and Liverpool either side of a draw with West Ham United.

Fabian Hurzeler’s side slipped to tenth last weekend but remain within touching distance of the top five, a reflection of how congested the upper half of the table remains heading into the festive period.

Home form continues to be Brighton’s greatest asset, with the Seagulls having taken the vast majority of their points at the Amex and suffering very few league defeats there across the past two seasons.

They have lost only once at home in the Premier League this campaign and rarely allow visiting sides to dictate the rhythm of games on the south coast.

That context suggests Sunderland will face a markedly different challenge to the one they overcame against Newcastle, with Brighton expected to play on the front foot and seek to reassert control after recent frustrations.

This fixture therefore carries weight for both sides, with Sunderland aiming to consolidate their position among the league’s early overachievers and Brighton determined to halt a slide before it hardens into something more damaging.

With form, belief and ambition aligning on both sides, Saturday’s contest looks set to be decided by which team imposes itself more convincingly when the pressure begins to rise.