Bournemouth meet Brighton in a huge Premier League clash as both teams look to build on recent victories.
If Arsenal slip up at lunchtime and Everton plus Sunderland fail to win elsewhere, victory could see Bournemouth go as high as first if can win by five goals or more.
Brighton can leapfrog the Cherries with a win and potentially go third if results elsewhere go in their favour.
Team News
Adam Smith is ruled out for Bournemouth after he suffered a hamstring injury during their win at Tottenham.
Julian Araujo is back from suspension whilst Lewis Cook is set to return from a knee injury.
Veljko Milosavljevic could make his debut after he joined on deadline day from Red Star Belgrade.
Enes Unal remains sidelined with a knee injury.
Brighton is set to welcome Mats Wieffer back after he missed their comeback 2-1 victory at home against Manchester City, due to a knee injury.
Julio Enciso, Solly March and Adam Webster are all ruled out with knee injuries.
When is Kick-Off?
Bournemouth host Brighton at Vitality Stadium on Saturday 13 September at 3pm BST, untelevised live in the UK.
Stat Attack
- Bournemouth have won three of their last nine league meetings against Brighton (W3, L6).
- Brighton have won two of six previous Premier League trips to Bournemouth (W2, L4).
- Ex Brighton forward, Joao Pedro scored in the Seagulls’ two meetings against Bournemouth last season
- Bournemouth’s last two league goals have been scored in the opening five minutes of their last two matches (W2).
- In the opening three matchweeks, no defender played more passes than Brighton’s Lewis Dunk who made 233 passes in three appearances.
Prediction
Aside from their Carabao Cup exit to Brentford in the midweek before the international break, Bournemouth have responded well in their last two league games with clinically dominant displays after a tough opening defeat so I expect more of the same intensity on current form.
Their early winner at Tottenham last time out in particular has laid down a marker because they didn’t just settle for that initial lead and took the fight to Spurs, with superb defensive work at times in the second half and the right tactical play to limit their attacking opportunities.
Brighton meanwhile showed true fight and grit to deliver a clinical comeback to beat Man City despite not having many periods of dominance until the closing stages, whilst tactical changes certainly proved key and showcased the quality depth of the squad now to make impact off the bench.
My instinct on this game is that if Bournemouth score first then they should likely grind out the win, but Brighton do have enough grit to realistically nick a point.
Prediction: Bournemouth 1-1 Brighton
Result: Bournemouth 2-1 Brighton
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