Brighton vs. Watford
Venue: Amex
Kick off: 6:30PM
Two teams with relegation fears will lock horns in the Premier League this afternoon as Brighton & Hove Albion welcome Watford to the Amex Stadium.
Brighton is currently 15th in the Premier League table with 26 points, while Watford sit three points behind in 19th ahead of the huge fixture this weekend.
Brighton have been widely praised for their brand of football under Graham Potter this season, but their sole focus over the next few months will simply be on securing their status as a top-flight team.
A run of just one win from their last 10 league matches has seen the Seagulls slide down the table, with 26 points leaving them in 15th position ahead of this weekend’s four top-flight fixtures.
Only Watford (5) and Norwich City (4) have actually won fewer Premier League matches than Brighton (6) this term, which will surely be a concern for Potter heading into their final 13 fixtures.
They came from 3-1 behind to pick up a point away to West Ham United last weekend, but the result at the London Stadium followed a disappointing 3-1 defeat at Bournemouth on January 21.
Brighton did run out 3-0 winners in the reverse match earlier this season, though, and will be looking to secure their first league double over Watford since the 1990-91 campaign.
There is no question that Watford have improved under Nigel Pearson’s leadership, with the 56-year-old picking up four wins and three draws from his 11 matches in charge of the club.
The Hornets have not won since beating Bournemouth on January 12, though, and have lost their last two against Aston Villa and Everton.
They actually led 2-0 against the Toffees last weekend only to concede three times in what would have been a difficult result to take.
There is simply no downplaying the importance of this match considering that Watford’s next two in the Premier League are away to Manchester United and at home to Liverpool.
Pearson has given them more than a fighting chance, though, as despite sitting 19th, they are only two points outside of the bottom three and would move out of the relegation zone with a victory this afternoon.
Watford have only lost one of their last seven away league games to Brighton, meanwhile, recording three wins in the process, although their last match at the Amex finished in a goalless draw in February 2019.
Brighton possible XI: Ryan, Montoya, Duffy, Dunk, Bernardo, Stephens, Propper, Trossard, Mooy, Gross, Murray.
Watford possible XI: Foster, Mariappa, Kabasele, Cathcart, Masina, Chalobah, Capoue, Pereyra, Doucoure, Deulofeu, Denney.