Arsenal vs Brighton & Hove Albion Prediction & Betting Tips

Brighton make the trip to the Emirates to take on Arsenal this weekend in a big weekend for the top half of the table. Arsenal will be eyeing Liverpool’s spot at the top of the Premier League, whereas Brighton will be looking to get back to their bright start to the season and winning ways.

Over 2.5 goals in the match @5/4 with William Hill

Both Arsenal and Brighton to score @13/20 with Paddypower

Arsenal to win @4/9 with Paddypower

These odds are correct at the time of publication and are subject to change.

Date: 17/12/2023

Kick-off time: 14:00

Location: Emirates Stadium

The top of the Premier League table is tight with just seven points covering the top five teams. Two of the teams in the top eight, Arsenal and Brighton, will be looking for all three points to either display real ambition in the title race or to put themselves firmly in the conversation for European football again next season.

Arsenal currently sit second in the Premier League after 16 games. The Gunners have 11 wins, three draws and two losses. This leaves Mikel Arteta’s men on 36 points, just one point behind top-of-the-league Liverpool.

The Gunners are just one point above Aston Villa and three points ahead of reigning champions Manchester City. Arsenal have one of the best records in the league, especially in terms of their defence. The Gunners have scored 33 goals so far this season, but more impressively have only conceded 15, the joint lowest in the league with Liverpool.

Brighton, on the other hand, sit eighth in the Premier League. In 16 games, The Seagulls have seven wins, five draws and four losses which leaves them on 26 points. Roberto De Zerbi’s side are just four points from fifth-place Tottenham in the Europa League spot and seven points from the final Champions League spot.

The Seagulls have also been prolific in front of goal with 33 goals to their name so far, but have been leaking more goals than they would like having conceded 28 goals this season.

Arsenal and Brighton have only met 28 times in their histories, despite their first meeting coming all the way back in 1935 in the FA Cup. The Gunners have the far superior record in the fixture with 15 wins in comparison to The Seagulls’ eight wins, with the other five games ending in a draw.

However, three of Brighton’s eight wins have come in the last five meetings. In fact, Arsenal have only beaten Brighton once since 2021, their 4 - 2 win in 2022.

This fixture has become a hotbed for goals as in the four games between the two, there have been over three goals with both teams scoring in three of the last five games as well.

Arsenal Team News

Arteta still has a number of players missing. Fabio Vieira, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Thomas Partey, Emile Smith-Rowe and Jurrien Timber are all unavailable until at least the end of the month.

Arsenal possible starting lineup:
Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Odegaard, Rice, Havertz; Saka, Jesus, Martinelli

Brighton Team News

De Zerbi also has a big list of injuries coming into this weekend. Ansu Fati, Pervis Estupinan, Tariq Lamptey, Julio Enciso, Danny Welbeck and Solly March are all unavailable this weekend. However, Adam Webster may make a return this weekend.

Brighton & Hove Albion possible starting lineup:

Verbruggen; Veltman, Van Hecke, Dunk, Milner; Baleba, Gross; Adingra, Lallana, Mitoma; Ferguson

In their last five games in all competitions, Arsenal have three wins, one draw and one loss.

In the Champions League, Arsenal hosted French side Lens. Despite having just 47% of the possession, goals from Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard along with a penalty from Jorginho gave Arsenal the 6 - 0 win, their second biggest win in the Champions League.

Back in the Premier League, The Gunners faced a tricky Wolves team. Saka opened the scoring for Arsenal in the sixth minute and Odegaard doubled Arsenal’s lead seven minutes later. The Gunners controlled the game, with the late goal from Matheus Cunha merely a consolation for Wolves as Arsenal won 2 - 1.

The next time out against Luton Town, Arsenal showed the drive to get the result. Gabriel Martinelli drew first blood but Gabriel Osho immediately equalised, though Jesus regained the lead for Arsenal before halftime. However, it was Luton who struck first in the second half, Elijah Adebayo and Ross Barkley giving Luton the 3 - 2 lead before the 60-minute mark. Havertz levelled the game, but Declan Rice’s 97th-minute goal gave Arsenal the 4 - 3 win.

A big loss came Arsenal’s way on their trip to Villa Park. John McGinn scored the only goal of the game in the seventh minute as Villa held firm for the 1 - 0 win.

The last time out for Arsenal came against PSV in the Champions League. Eddie Nketiah opened the scoring just before halftime, but just five minutes into the second half Yorbe Vertessen equalised as the game finished 1 - 1.

In their last five games in all competitions, Brighton have won three, drawn one and lost one.

In the Europa League, Brighton travelled to Greece to take on AEK Athens. A second-half Joao Pedro penalty was all that separated the two sides in a 1 - 0 win for Brighton over ten-man Athens who had Mijat Gacinovic sent off.

Back in the Premier League, Brighton faced Chelsea. Enzo Fernandez and former Brighton player Levi Colwill gave Chelsea a 2 - 0 lead, but Facundo Buonanotte got Brighton on the scoresheet before halftime. Despite being down to ten men, with Conor Gallagher sent off, and a goal from Pedro, a Fernandez penalty gave Chelsea the 3 - 2 win.

Brighton bounced back against Brentford. Bryan Mbeumo’s penalty gave The Bees the lead, but goals from Pascal Gross and Jack Hinshelwood gave The Seagulls the 2 - 1 win.

However, Brighton stumbled again against relegation candidates Burnley. Wilson Odobert gave Burnley the lead just on halftime but Simon Adingra scored to grab a 1 - 1 draw for Brighton.

The most recent outing for Brighton was in the Europa League against Marseille where the Seagulls earned a hard-fought 1-0 victory via an 88th-minute Joao Pedro strike to seal their place in the Europa League's Round of 16 via a first-place finish in Group B at the expense of their opponents.

Arsenal have a point to prove after the defeat to Aston Villa and Brighton have had a somewhat shaky defence this season. Therefore it’s likely to be an Arsenal win, but a high-scoring affair where both teams are on the scoresheet.

Don’t forget to check out the rest of our previews, tips and offers for this weekend’s action.

Arsenal vs Brighton can be watched on DAZN or listened to on BBC Five Live.

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