Brighton & Hove Albion kick off the weekend action as they welcome Bournemouth to the Amex Stadium in a Seaside derby.
Both teams enter this clash locked on 20 points and goal difference of -6 and a win foe either team will temporarily send them 13th.
Team news
Embed from Getty ImagesLewis Dunk could return for Brighton after missing their Boxing Day defeat at Tottenham through illness.
Solly March (groin) could return on New Year Day but Jose Izquierdo (knee) is still sidelined for another month.
Bournemouth could have Simon Francis available after he missed their Boxing Draw against Arsenal with a knock to his knee.
Diego Rico is also available after serving a one match ban for collecting five yellow cards.
Adam Smith (ankle), Nathan Ake (hamstring), Arnaut Danjuma (foot), Charlie Daniels (knee), Lloyd Kelly (thigh) and David Brooks (ankle) are all ruled out.
Stat Attack
- Brighton have won just one of their last five meetings with Bournemouth in all competitions (W1, D1, L3).
- Bournemouth are unbeaten in four previous Premier League meetings with Brighton (W3, D1), scoring at least twice on each occasion.
- Brighton have taken just three points from their last five home games against Bournemouth (D3, L2).
- Bournemouth’s Joshua King is yet to score a headed goal this season.
- Mat Ryan has made four sweeper clearances for Brighton in 19 appearances this season, double the amount that he produced in 34 appearances last season.
Prediction
Brighton produced a decent performance at Tottenham but defensive slips cost them at least a point, which surely won’t be the case here because I can see them doing the most of the attacking here.
Bournemouth are continuously underperforming but given their injury crisis, Eddie Howe is doing a good job tactic wise to get a point against Arsenal on Thursday so I expect them to continue with that counter-attack style here.
I therefore can see a tough encounter with a draw a decent bet but Bournemouth seem to find another gear against Brighton, which is why I am going for a Bournemouth win.
Prediction: Brighton 1-2 Bournemouth
Result: Brighton 2-0 Bournemouth