Brighton v Arsenal preview: Visitors aiming to keep lead at top
Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi praised his side for playing a “fantastic game”, which is indicative of the confidence growing in the Italian coach after he followed up a five-game winless PL run (D2, L3) to begin his tenure with four wins from the following six games (L2) across all competitions.
However, if the seventh-placed Seagulls are to be successful in their unlikely quest for European football, they must improve on some typically tepid performances in home league action (W3, D2, L2).
Welcoming the league leaders on New Year’s Eve may not be an ideal date to start, though, as Brighton remain winless in six of their last seven games played on the 31st of December!
The festive period has been kind to Arsenal, who topped the table on Christmas Day for the first time in 15 years.
Fears had grown over the Gunners’ title credentials after key forward Gabriel Jesus was seriously injured during the World Cup ruling him out for several months, though an eventual 3-1 win on Boxing Day against West Ham ultimately impressed Arsenal fans as well as their last title-winning manager, Arsene Wenger, who watched on from the stands.
Defensive solidity on the road has been a hallmark of Arsenal’s title challenge this year, highlighted by a league-high six clean sheets from eight away games.
That’s already equal to the six on the road they managed across the entirety of the 2021/22 PL, yet the Amex hasn’t provided happy hunting grounds for Arsenal in recent years, after just one PL H2H away win (D2, L2).
Players to watch: Brighton forward Danny Welbeck has four goals in his last five appearances against his former club, including one this season as they dumped Arsenal out of the EFL Cup! Also scoring in that cup game was Eddie Nketiah, the Arsenal forward that stepped in for Jesus and scored his first PL goal of the campaign during his first league start of 2022/23 in their Boxing Day win.
Hot stat: Brighton have lost just one of their four PL games as pre-match outsiders this season (W2, D1, L1).
