Brighton & Hove Albion welcome Nottingham Forest to AMEX Stadium in the first of a Tuesday Night Football double-header.
Victory would see Brighton climb to fifth in the table ahead of Wednesday’s action, whilst Forest can climb off the foot of the table into 19th position with a win.
Team News
Kaoru Mitoma is ruled out for Brighton after he suffered an ankle injury in their defeat at Brentford on Friday (14 October).
Jakub Moder (knee) remains absent.
Forest could welcome Lewis O’Brien back into contention after he was absent for Saturday’s loss at Wolves due to illness.
Renan Lodi (ankle) could also return but Jack Colback (back) is a doubt.
Moussa Niakhate (thigh) and Omar Richards (leg) both remain absent.
Stat Attack
- This is Brighton’s first Premier League meeting against Nottingham Forest, although they have won just two of eight top-flight clashes in the Old First Division (W2, D1, L5).
- Forest are unbeaten in three of four previous away top-flight meetings against Brighton (W2, D1, L1).
- Neither team have scored more than once in this top-flight fixture at Brighton, although their four previous such clashes came at the Seagulls’ former ground – Goldstone Stadium.
- Brighton are looking to avoid a four-match winless run in the league for the first time since a seven-match streak from February – April 2022.
- Only one of Nottingham Forest’s 14 conceded goals away from home this season was conceded from the penalty spot.
Prediction
After a promising start to life under Roberto De Zerbi in their 3-3 draw at Liverpool, Brighton seem to have lost their way slightly with two consecutive defeats where they’ve simply wasted their chances and made small costly defensive errors.
This fixture however feels like the perfect opportunity for the Seagulls to get back on track because Forest’s defence does seem there for the taking at present.
Speaking of Forest though, they didn’t play too badly at Wolves but were just too wasteful of several strong opportunities and harshly denied by VAR at times, although a small defensive positioning error was their downfall amidst great saves from Dean Henderson.
In fact, end product seems to be the biggest issue for both teams coming into this match so the first goal will be absolutely vital, of which I can see falling to Brighton if they can polish up their finishing because Forest’s defence does still look vulnerable at times.
Prediction: Brighton 1-0 Nottingham Forest
Result: Brighton 0-0 Nottingham Forest