Brighton & Hove Albion vs Arsenal
Football returns to the south coast this weekend when Premier League is the entertainment on offer, and there’s serious business to take care of for Brighton and Arsenal.
Brighton & Hove Albion have nine games to preserve their Premier League status, sitting just two points above the drop zone.
Meanwhile, the Gunners are chasing a European place. Having already lost their first game back after the break, head coach Mikel Arteta will be keen to see his team react after defeat to Manchester City, and with a competitive game under their belt the Arsenal players will hope to catch the Seagulls off guard.
The latest Brighton vs Arsenal betting odds here at SBOBET back the Gunners to bounce back at the Amex Stadium.
Talking Points
Can the Seagulls fly to safety again?
It all began so brightly back in August.
Brighton had just sacked their former manager Chris Hughton, who had guided them to safety the previous year and Graham Potter arrived to bring a new brand of attacking and exciting football.
Fast forward to nine months and we’re here again. The Seagulls are once again in a real relegation battle, leading a group of six all haunted by the prospect of dropping out of the Premier League.
We’re embarking on a mini-league of nine games and some of the most exciting clashes will be in the pressure cooker of the bottom group.
French forward Neal Maupay is Brighton’s top scorer with eight goals, and he bagged an 80th-minute winner as the Seagulls stunned Arsenal at the Emirates back in December.
But Potter’s team will need to find some steel if they are to survive, and he can find that in big centre-back Lewis Dunk and midfield enforcer Dale Stephens.
It’s going to be a battle to the end for Brighton and they must keep their nerve.
The Seagulls are at 3.50 to take the drop but if they embark on another winless run it will be tough, and they couldn’t have a much harder run of fixtures.
After meeting the Gunners, they face Leicester City and Manchester United. Then they have a huge match away to Norwich City before meetings with Liverpool and Manchester City.
Damaging start at the Etihad for Arsenal
Arsenal’s opening day defeat to Manchester City raised more questions for head coach Mikel Arteta as his side failed to test the Sky Blues and were torn apart in defence.
It was the Gunners’ first loss in 2020, but after starting brightly at the Etihad, things all went pear-shaped.
Injuries to midfielder Granit Xhaka and defender Pablo Mari within 25 minutes depleted Arsenal’s rearguard. Then we witnessed a calamitous performance from substitute David Luiz who made a mistake for City’s opening goal, and then he gave away the penalty for their second while picking up a red card at the same time.
Dani Ceballos came on to replace Xhaka and he rediscovered the form he showed just before the break. But in attack as well as defence, the Gunners struggled.
Arteta has said his team must achieve Champions League football to avoid slipping further behind their rivals and most likely, to keep hold of their star striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
The Arsenal skipper is joint second-favourite to win the Golden Boot at odds of 5.00. He’s on 17 goals at the moment but rarely looked like adding to that tally alongside 21-year-old Eddie Nketiah and 18-year-old Bukayo Saka.
I suspect Alexandre Lacazette may line up alongside Aubameyang on Sunday.
History
Graham Potter’s team can take some encouragement from the recent Brighton vs Arsenal results.
The Gunners have won three, drawn two, and lost two of the seven meetings since 2013, the last being a win for Brighton at the Emirates when Lacazette’s goal wasn’t enough to avoid defeat as Maupay struck his late blow.
In fact, the Seagulls are unbeaten in this fixture on the last four occasions. But while defeat to Manchester City was Arsenal’s first of 2020, Brighton haven’t won since 2019.
Betting Tip
 |
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Brighton & Hove Albion vs Arsenal | Under 2.50 Goals @ 1.93 |
| June 20, 22:00 (GMT+8) |
Graham Potter’s team is at 3.25 to win this game. And with the draw at 3.25, the Gunners are favourites to grab all three points at odds of 2.08.
If you think Arsenal will slip up again you might fancy the double chance of Brighton or Draw at 1.64.
But I think this will be a nervy affair, Brighton could be a little rusty and Arsenal will be intent on putting in an efficient display after the shambles at the Etihad.
It’s a low scoring draw or a narrow win for Arsenal for me.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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 = €20 (Highly confident) |
= €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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