Brighton & Hove Albion return from their winter hibernation, when they host in-form Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Amex. Wolves will seek a fourth straight Premier League win from their first top-flight fixture of the year, while Brighton are back in action following a fortnight’s break. After recuperating during a warm weather training camp in Dubai last week, Brighton will now aim to pick up where they left off, having gone four games unbeaten either side of the New Year.
While the Seagulls may have managed just three wins from their last 14 matches, an away draw with arch-rivals Crystal Palace preceded victory over Tottenham Hotspur in their most recent home fixture; a 0-0 stalemate with West Ham then followed in their opening game of 2024.
Having finally kept their first Premier League clean sheet of the season, Roberto De Zerbi’s men went on to beat Stoke City 4-2 in the Potteries, securing a place in the FA Cup fourth round, where they will meet Sheffield United.
Furthermore, De Zerbi has won all of his previous encounters with visitors by an aggregate scoreline of 13-3; in stark contrast, Wolves boss Gary O’Neil has lost all three of his Premier League matches versus Brighton.
Roberto De Zerbi must also do without Simon Adingra and Kaoru Mitoma, who are on international duty at the Africa Nations Cup and Asian Cup respectively, while Solly March is out for the foreseeable future. Wolves will turn to Matheus Cunha for inspiration in the final third, as the former Atletico Madrid man has been directly involved in eight goals in his last nine league appearances, having registered just five goal contributions during his first 28.
Brighton have often blown Wolves away over recent seasons, but it should be a much closer encounter on this occasion. The visitors have shown some more steel of late, but their hosts’ greater versatility up front could prove the difference.
