Brighton & Hove Albion take on relegation battling Bournemouth at the AMEX Stadium.
Victory will see Brighton stay sixth and move to within two points of fifth-placed Tottenham, whilst Bournemouth could climb out of the relegation zone with at least one point if Wolves lose elsewhere.
Team News
Evan Ferguson is ruled out for Brighton after he suffered a knee injury during their surprise FA Cup comeback victory against Liverpool last weekend.
Alexis Mac Allister is suspended for this match after he collected his fifth booking of the season in the Seagulls’ last league outing, which saw them draw 2-2 at Leicester a fortnight ago.
Midfielder, Yasin Ayari could make his debut after joining the Seagulls this week from AIK.
Levi Colwill, Adam Lallana (both muscle) and Jakob Moder (knee) remain absent.
Bournemouth could welcome Dominic Solanke back from a knee injury which forced him to miss their 1-1 draw at home to Nottingham Forest a fortnight ago.
Marcus Tavernier (hamstring), Phillip Billing (muscle), Ryan Fredericks and Junior Stanislas (both knock) face late fitness tests.
Lewis Cook (knee) and David Brooks (fitness) remain absent.
When is Kick-Off?
Brighton host Bournemouth at AMEX Stadium in a 3pm GMT kick-off on Saturday 4 February, albeit untelevised live in UK.
Stat Attack
- Brighton have claimed just four points from six previous Premier League meetings against Bournemouth (W1, D1, L4).
- Bournemouth are unbeaten in two of three previous Premier League visits to Brighton (W1, D1, L1).
- Brighton scored twice in two of their three previous home matches against Bournemouth in Premier League.
- Pascal Gross has been involved in nine goals for Brighton this season, with six goals and three assists in 19 appearances.
- Marcus Tavernier has produced more assists this season than any other Bournemouth player, having produced four assists and scored twice in 15 appearances.
Prediction
Despite not being at their attacking best for much of their eventual FA Cup win against Liverpool, Brighton continue to look difficult to beat especially on the flanks – where Kaoru Mitoma will be a tough player to beat if he continues to play like he did against the Reds with his pace.
Bournemouth meanwhile have had two weeks off following a solid point at home to Forest where they were clinical on the counter-attack, whilst their defence looked better in open play but hopefully they’ve used this break to sort out their set piece issues.
This game though feels like it is Brighton’s to lose such is their goalscoring form at present but Ferguson will be a huge loss up front, which is something that Bournemouth need to take advantage of if want to boost their survival hopes otherwise the Seagulls will get a routine win.
Prediction: Brighton 2-1 Bournemouth
Result: Brighton 1-0 Bournemouth
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