Arsenal vs Brighton Preview: Team News & Prediction
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As they try and hold off the likes of Manchester City and Aston Villa at the top-of-the-table, Arsenal now take on Brighton and Hove Albion at the Emirates Stadium.
Kick-off date/time:
How to watch on TV: UK – Not televised / USA – Not televised
How to watch online: UK – Cannot be streamed / USA – Peacock
Arsenal preview: Gunning for more
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal survived a scare in midweek as the Gunners managed to edge past Crystal Palace on penalties, having conceded a late equaliser, in the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup in midweek.
The north Londoners remain at the top-of-the-table after a slender 1-0 win at the Hill Dickinson Stadium against Everton, but the gap has been closed in recent weeks by both City and Villa.
Brighton preview: Frustrated Seagulls
Brighton and Hove Albion come into this one on the back of a four-match winless run of form of late, albeit the Seagulls do remain tucked inside the top-half ahead of this weekend’s round of fixtures.
Brighton most recently stumbled to a lacklustre goalless draw at the AMEX Stadium against high-flying Sunderland last weekend, a frustrating a result given that Sunderland have so many absentees due to the CAF Africa Cup of Nations.
Arsenal team news: Havertz edging closer
Mikel Arteta has said that Kai Havertz could return 'in a matter of days' and the Germany international attacker was even close to playing against Crystal Palace in the cup in midweek.
Gabriel remains in a position of recovery and has not yet trained, while Piero Hincapie is now a doubt having missed the clash with Palace due to a shoulder injury.
Predicted XI (4-3-3): Raya; Timber, Saliba Hincapie, Calafiori; Odegaard, Zubimendi, Rice; Saka, Merino, Eze
Unavailable: Gabriel (Fitness), Mosquera (Injured), White (Injured), Dowman (Injured)
Questionable: Hincapie (Injured), Havertz (Fitness), Martinelli (Injured)
Brighton team news: Dunk and Gomez back
England international centre-back Lewis Dunk and Paraguay international attacking midfielder Diego Gomez have returned from their respective one-match suspensions for this weekend.
Mats Wieffer is also a doubt and will have to be monitored right up until the final moment ahead of the trip to Arsenal, with Danny Welbeck recovering from injury and Jan Paul van Hecke having recovered from illness.
Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Verbruggen; Veltman, Van Hecke, Dunk, Kadioglu; Hinshelwood, Ayari; Minteh, Gruda, Mitoma; Rutter
Unavailable: Webster (Injured), Baleba (International duty), March (Injured), Tzimas (Injured)
Questionable: Welbeck (Fitness)
Arsenal vs Brighton prediction
Home advantage means that Arsenal should be expected to play with a bit more urgency and intensity at the Emirates Stadium. Brighton are more deliberate than most for teams in 2025, and they will try and control the tempo as much as possible but they are often wasteful in the final third and Arsenal should be expected to ease themselves to a more straightforward victory.
Arsenal vs Brighton tip: Arsenal to win & under 3.5 goals
