Brighton & Hove Albion welcome Burnley to the Amex Stadium in the first of a Friday Night Football double-bill.
Brighton could climb above Manchester United with victory whilst a win will lift Burnley off the foot of the table but the Clarets will only climb out of the relegation zone if they win by three or more goals.
Team News
Neal Maupay will be available for Brighton after missing last weekend’s defeat at Tottenham due to internal disciplinary concerns following an alleged fight with a teammate.
Tariq Lamptey (cramp), Solly March, Christian Walton (both ankle) and Alireza Jahanbakhsh (hamstring) could also feature, although the latter three will be handed late fitness tests.
Lewis Dunk (suspension), Florian Andone and Jose Izquierdo (both knee) remain absent until after the international break at earliest.
Burnley could welcome Johann Berg Gudmundsson and Ben Mee back from respective calf and thigh injuries if the pair pass late fitness tests alongside Phil Bardsley, who is rediscovering match fitness after a recent bout of illness.
Erik Pieters (calf) and Jack Cork (ankle) are still sidelined but expected to return in time for Christmas.
Stat Attack
- Brighton have won just one of six previous Premier League meetings against Burnley (W1, D3, L2).
- Burnley are unbeaten in their last four trips to the Amex Stadium (W1, D3).
- There is yet to be a red card in this Premier League fixture after six previous meetings.
- No Brighton player this season has made more clearances than Lewis Dunk’s 16 clearances in five league appearances.
- Chris Wood is the only Burnley player to have produced double digital total of shots in their opening six league matches, having produced 12 shots in six appearances this season.
Prediction
Defending continues to be Brighton’s biggest issue because they have been impressive when attacking yet often switch off when defending, although they did lack sharpness at Spurs last weekend but if they can sort that out quickly then we should see goals here.
Burnley meanwhile started both halves strongly against Chelsea on Saturday but when the Blues hit their stride, Burnley’s defence was found wandering on many occasions which is quite uncharacteristic of the Clarets so am hoping for serious improvement here.
Both teams however aren’t renowned for their clean sheets so I can see goals here but a draw would be a solid result heading into the international break.
Prediction: Brighton 1-1 Burnley
Result: Brighton 0-0 Burnley