Brighton vs Everton: Premier League preview, team news, stats, prediction, kick-off time
Brighton hope Danny Welbeck, Enock Mwepu and Neal Maupay will feature; Everton are without forward Moise Kean and midfielder Fabian Delph; follow Brighton vs Everton in our dedicated live match blog; watch free match highlights on Sky Sports digital platforms and YouTube channel at 5.15pm
Friday 27 August 2021 13:51, UK
Team news, stats and prediction ahead of Brighton vs Everton in the Premier League on Saturday; kick-off 3pm.
Team news
Brighton are hoping Danny Welbeck, Enock Mwepu and Neal Maupay can prove their fitness ahead of Everton's Premier League visit to the Amex Stadium.
Welbeck (hamstring), summer signing Mwepu (knock) and Maupay (shoulder) will all be assessed after Brighton's final pre-game training session.
Tariq Lamptey will speed up his recovery programme from a hamstring problem during the international break.
Everton are without forward Moise Kean and midfielder Fabian Delph.
Kean is suspended after his sending off against Huddersfield in the Carabao Cup while Delph has a shoulder problem.
Alex Iwobi will be assessed after suffering an abductor problem and out-of-favour midfielder James Rodriguez is again unlikely to be involved.
How to follow
Follow Brighton vs Everton in our dedicated live match blog. Highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel at 5.15pm.
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Last time out...
Prediction: Jones Knows writes...
I'm yet to be completely convinced that Brighton have turned a corner from last season. Admittedly, they were excellent for 45 minutes in their win over Watford, but they did only post three shots on goal during that spell of dominance, two of which resulted in goals. There were still occasions of overplaying and a lack of ruthlessness around the box.
Brighton will create their way into good territorial positions but I'll need to see a bigger sample size than just two games to completely trust that the conversion rate woes of last season are a thing of the past.
Everton's style is notoriously one that Brighton can struggle against. The Toffees are happy to defend deep and soak up pressure - not a match scenario Graham Potter's men are comfortable in, as shown by defeats to the likes of West Brom and Sheffield United last season.
Everton's quality in forward areas with Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin could be the difference between these two. And at the prices, I'm with an Everton win.
SCORE PREDICTION: 0-1
BETTING ANGLE: Everton to win and under 2.5 goals in the match (9/2 with Sky Bet)
Opta stats
- The home side has never lost in eight Premier League meetings between Brighton and Everton (W6 D2), with Brighton winning two and drawing two against the Toffees at the Amex Stadium.
- Everton are winless in their last four away games against Brighton in all competitions (D2 L2) since a 2-1 win in April 1983.
- Brighton have started the 2021-22 season with two wins from two games - they've won their first three league games in just three of their previous 94 seasons in the Football League, doing so in 1951-52, 1953-54 and 2011-12.
- Albeit a small sample size, Brighton's shot conversion rate in the Premier League this season is 14.8% (4 goals from 27 attempts), while last season it was their lowest in a single campaign in the competition at just 8.2%.
- Everton have conceded seven goals in their last two Premier League away games, as many as they had shipped in their previous 12 on the road in the competition.
- Brighton have won three of their last four Premier League games (L1), as many as they had in their previous 14 in the competition (W3 D5 L6). The Seagulls are looking to secure three consecutive Premier League victories for just the second time, previously doing so in October 2018.
- Only Manchester City (46) have had more open play sequences of 10+ passes in the Premier League this season than Brighton (39).
- Only Liverpool (17) and West Ham (16) have had more shots on target than Everton (14) in the opening two Premier League games so far this season. The Toffees are averaging seven shots on target per game so far this term, compared to 3.9 in 2020-21.
- Neal Maupay has scored in both of Brighton's Premier League games this season, having scored in just two of his previous 18 league appearances. He could become the first player to score in each of the Seagulls' first three league games in a single campaign since Nicky Forster in 2008-09.
- Since joining Everton in 2018, Richarlison has been involved in more Premier League goals for the Toffees than any other player (42 - 34 goals, 8 assists). In their last game against Leeds, no Everton player had more shots (5) or created more chances (3) than the Brazilian.
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