Premier League: Potter Uncertainty Clouds Brighton’s Clash with Cherries

AFC Bournemouth vs Brighton & Hove Albion

Brighton are off to a bright start in the Premier League. The Seagulls currently sit in fourth spot through six games, and with second-place Manchester City and third-place Tottenham set to face off, they could potentially find themselves even higher by the end of the weekend.

The Seagulls will certainly like their chances of securing another victory as they visit newly promoted Bournemouth at the Vitality.

After sacking manager Scott Parker, the Cherries are unbeaten in two games under interim coach Gary O’Neil. However, can they defy Premier League 2022 betting odds when they face the soaring Seagulls, whose own manager could be on his way out?

Talking Points

Bournemouth getting new manager bounce

Bournemouth’s post-Scott Parker era is off to a promising start. The Cherries are unbeaten in their two games with interim coach Gary O’Neil in charge as they drew with Wolves and staged a dramatic comeback win over Nottingham Forest.

After going two goals down at half-time, Bournemouth rallied with three second-half goals against Forest, including the winner from Jaidon Anthony three minutes from time.

O’Neil changed the team’s formation to a 4-2-3-1, with Dominic Solanke playing as the lone centre-forward with Philip Billing just in behind. That change produced positive results as both scored, while Solanke also set up Anthony’s winning goal.

Solanke seems to be back to full strength after missing a few games due to injury, which is big for Bournemouth. He is easily their biggest goal threat and is capable of making good things happen offensively.

Although, the Forest match showed that O’Neil still has work to do to shore up a Bournemouth backline that has been leaking goals thus far. The Cherries have already conceded 18 goals – the most in the Premier League – with half of those coming in their disastrous 9-0 defeat away to Liverpool.

Seagulls soaring high but Potter departure looms

After suffering a shock 2-1 defeat against newly promoted Fulham, Brighton bounced back in a big way as they thumped struggling Leicester 5-2 last weekend. The Seagulls are now up to fourth in the table, just two points off first.

Alexis Mac Allister was the star of the show against Leicester as he bagged a brace. The Argentine midfielder is in a great run of form at the moment; he leads the team with 4 goals on the season.

It’s remarkable that Graham Potter continues to produce positive Premier League 2022 results despite lacking a top-calibre goalscorer. Neither of his two recognised centre-forwards – Danny Welbeck and Enock Mwepu – has yet to even score a goal this season.

But their midfielders have been so good that they have carried the Seagulls up to fourth. Veteran Pascal Gross, who has surprisingly been playing a more advanced role in recent games, has been excellent with 3 goals and 2 assists. Wing-back Leandro Trossard already has a couple of goals. And 20-year-old Moises Caicedo has been a revelation as he’s stepped in to replace Yves Bissouma in midfield.

Potter’s success at Brighton has made him a prime target for Chelsea, who recently sacked Thomas Tuchel. It’s quite possible that Potter may not even be in charge for this match if the Blues can act quickly on his appointment.

History

Bournemouth and Brighton have faced each other numerous times throughout the different divisions. Their first ever meeting was in 1923 – nearly a century ago – in Division Three. Bournemouth hold a slight 44-39 edge in wins, while there have been 29 draws.

However, the two sides have met just six times in the Premier League. Again, Bournemouth have the advantage with four wins to Brighton’s one, with one draw.

The two sides split their two meetings the last time they were in the Premier League together in the 2019-20 season. Brighton won 2-0 at home thanks to goals from Alireza Jahanbakhsh and Aaron Mooy, but Bournemouth hit back with a 3-1 win of their own at the Vitality.

Betting Tip

SBOTOP odds have Brighton installed as significant 1.81 favourites to beat Bournemouth, who are priced at 4.40 to get the home win. A draw is 3.40.

The Seagulls have already stumbled to a newly promoted side in Fulham this season, and with the uncertainty surrounding Potter’s future, a Brighton victory is far from a certainty.

But even with the potential distraction brought on by the Potter situation, Brighton should still have too much for the Cherries.

 

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