Brighton’s stunning start to the season continued in midweek European action, making them daunting opponents for rivals Crystal Palace who experienced different fortunes on the continent.
Match News and Current Form
A 4-0 rout of Kauno Žalgiris on Thursday was Brighton’s fifth successive win in all competitions, four of which have been accompanied by a clean sheet. Fabian Hürzeler’s men have netted a pre-round league-high 18 goals this term to begin the weekend inside the top three, with this the fourth time in six seasons that the Seagulls have posted at least 13 points after six games. Having won their last three league games to nil, there looks to be very little that could stop Brighton winning four straight Premier League matches for just the second time, while they’ve never done so without conceding, last doing so in November 2016 in the Championship.
Crystal Palace head into this grudge match on the back of a 3-2 UEFA Europa League defeat to Lyon that was described as “very disappointing” by boss Pierre Sage. While that’s perhaps a marker of the Eagles’ tremendous progress in recent years, their Premier League efforts so far this term have been plagued by inconsistency (W2, D1, L3), yet having faced a pre-round league-high 108 shots, the underlying numbers make for grim reading. Hitting the road appears unlikely to stimulate a positive response either given that Palace have failed to score in four of their last six away league matches and have managed just one win from their last nine fixtures on opposition territory (D2, L6).
Head-to-Head History
Palace have avoided defeat in each of the last four Premier League H2Hs (W3, D1) and have won their last two such visits to the Amex. Brighton are therefore at risk of losing three successive home league games against Palace for the very first time here.
Hot Stats and Streaks
A pre-round league-high ten Brighton players have scored in the Premier League this season.
The only home goal Brighton have conceded in any competition this term came inside the first 15 minutes.
Only one Premier League side has conceded more goals from corners across all competitions since the start of last season than Palace (16).
Palace have lost the corner count in each of their last seven competitive away games.
Key Players to Watch and Missing Players
Having provided assists in his last three Premier League appearances, 35-year-old Pascal Groß could become the oldest player to do so in four successive games in the competition since Gianfranco Zola in 2002 here. Battling him for midfield supremacy, Daichi Kamada was on target in midweek and has four goal involvements in his last four league appearances (G1, A3) having blanked in his first 64 such appearances for Palace.
Brighton’s Pascal Struijk had last week’s red card overturned and is available here, but Ibrahim Osman picked up a knock on Thursday. Dean Henderson and Jean-Philippe Mateta remain doubts for Palace.
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Betting Analysis
Despite their poor recent H2H showings, an easier ride in midweek and their unbelievable form makes Brighton to win by 2+ goals very tempting here.
Author: Ryan Fisher