Brighton & Hove Albion vs Southampton Prediction: Seagulls to prevail again

Brighton & Hove Albion are seeking a third consecutive victory in the Premier League when they welcome Southampton to the Amex Stadium on Friday (20:00, Sky Sports Main Event). The Seagulls started their run with a home win against Manchester City, before an impressive away win at AFC Bournemouth last weekend. Now they bid to beat another south coast rival.

Southampton gave a good account of themselves in their 3-2 defeat to Liverpool last time out and they will be hoping that can serve them well here. Read on for my Brighton & Hove Albion prediction, including the latest match odds and team news.

Brighton & Hove Albion vs Southampton Odds

Brighton are 2/5, or a 71.4% chance, to win this fixture. Southampton are valued at 13/2 to take the three points, giving them an implied probability of 13.3%. The draw is on offer at 4/1 (20%).

Over 2.5 goals can be backed at 4/9 and both teams to score is marketed at 8/13.

Brighton striker Danny Welbeck has six goals in the Premier League already and he is 13/10 to score anytime on Friday. Joao Pedro has four for the Seagulls and he is 4/1 top open the scoring at the Amex.

Football Odds

Team News

Brighton remain without the services of James Milner and Solly March due to injury. The likes of Ferdi Kadioglu, Adam Webster, Lewis Dunk, Jack Hinshelwood, Tariq Lamptey and Yankuba Minteh will need to be assessed ahead of the game, having experienced their own physical issues recently.

Carlos Baleba is out because of suspension so Matt O'Riley could be handed his first Premier League start alongside either Mats Wieffer or Yasin Ayari.

Georginio Rutter was deployed on the right last time out to accommodate Joao Pedro, who played centrally for the hosts against the Cherries. Simon Adingra will be pushing to start this one after having to settle for cameos for much of the season so far.

Kaoru Mitoma should remain on the left with support coming from Pervis Estupinan from left-back. The rest of the back four should feature Joel Veltman, Igor and Jan Paul van Hecke. Welbeck is likely to continue up front for the Seagulls.

For Southampton, boss Russell Martin is missing goalkeepers Aaron Ramsdale and Gavin Bazunu due to injury. Will Smallbone, Ross Stewart and Jan Bednarek are also in the treatment room for the Saints.

Adam Lallana, who left Brighton in the summer, is a doubt to feature after picking up a hamstring problem against another former employer in Liverpool last weekend. Attacker Paul Onuachu also came away with a knee issue from that game, and he too will need to be assessed ahead of the game.

This could see Joe Aribo start in midfield alongside Matheus Fernandez. Adam Armstrong should be joined in attack by Tyler Dibling and either Ben Brereton Diaz or Cameron Archer.

Brighton and both teams to score @ 8/5

Brighton have looked very good in their last two wins and they have the chance to win three on the spin for the first time this season. They are yet to be beaten on home soil and I can't see that happening against strugglers Southampton, despite the Saints showing signs of improvement against Liverpool last week.

The Seagulls have the attacking quality to get the result they want, which could move them up to as high as second if other results were to go in their favour at the weekend.

Striker Welbeck has been rolling back the years with some of his goals this term but it his overall centre-forward play that has been most impressive so far. I can see him having another big impact for the hosts at the weekend against a side who have lost all six of their away matches to date.

Southampton did well to score twice against the Reds last time out but ultimately I don't see their fortunes on the road changing any time soon.

Brighton to win and both teams to score has been a winning selection on four occasions this term, with three of them landing at the Amex. I fancy this trend to continue on Friday night. The Saints have only managed to score in three of their away matches so far, but they will be buoyed by their two-goal showing at home to Liverpool.

I also think Brighton's high defensive line can be fragile, too, which the likes of Armstrong and Dibling can exploit on the break.

Joao Pedro anytime goalscorer @ 5/4

This man is going to be full of confidence heading into Friday after netting two goals in his last two outings after returning from injury. Joao Pedro continues to show how important he is to Brighton in the final third and it isn't just his goalscoring talents that are valued.

He also grabbed the assists for the other goals scored in the recent wins against Bournemouth and Man City, highlighting that he is just as good at creating chances as he is at converting them.

After a stop-start start to the season, he will be hoping that he can find his best form as we head into the busy festive schedule. I think he can continue his scoring streak against a Southampton side that have leaked 24 goals already this term.

I'm backing him to score again on Friday.

Offers

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