Brighton travel to The Emirates on Sunday lunchtime to take on Arsenal in their next Premier League encounter. The Seagulls head into the game fresh off a Championship title rivals last year, Newcastle. Arsenal are also in good form having won their last two games with a win last night(Thursday) away to Bate Borisov and have also beaten West Bromwich Albion 2-0 on Monday. Below is how The Albion could lineup.
In goal will be Matthew Ryan. The keeper has been in impressive form having kept his second clean of the season against Newcastle on Sunday. The Australian keeper looked shaky in a couple of games for Brighton, but now he’s settled and got used to the back four he has turned it around and performed well in between the sticks.
In defence, Hughton will stick with the back four that he chose for every game bar the games against Bournemouth in the Carabao Cup and the Premier League. The four will be Captain, Bruno at right-back, Lewis Dunk and Shane Duffy in the heart of the defence and Markus Suttner at left-back. The back four also added their second clean sheet of the campaign in last Sunday’s win over Newcastle.
For me, this defence is so well drilled having everyone apart from Suttner played pretty much every game last season, which means they know how each other play and are particularly good at cover if another one of them get dragged out of position.
In Midfield, will be the same four that started the Newcastle game with Anthony Knockaert on the right, Dale Stephens and Davy Propper in the centre and Solly March on the left. The midfield have been key with both the wingers, Knockaert and March terrorising full-backs with their pace and unpredictability. The central midfielders have to build a good understanding with Stephens and Propper both getting stuck into tackles and also being playmakers in a way with them thread balls to the wingers to run at their full-backs and some balls in behind the defence for the striker to get onto.
In the number ten role will be Pascal Gross. The goal on Sunday was the only goal the German has not set up or scored out of the five goals that The Seagulls have scored so far this season. Gross has been in tremendous form with two goals and two assists to his name. He has added that much need player and number ten that Brighton have so desperately wanted for the last couple of years. He also harries defence and cover some extraordinary distances in the game, which is exactly what Brighton need in the advanced areas of the pitch.
Upfront will see the only enforced change, Hughton will have to make with last Sunday’s goalscorer Tomer Hemed starting a three-game ban for an alleged stamp on Newcastle full-back DeAndre Yedlin. His replacement is set to be Chelsea loanee Izzy Brown who is set to make his first Premier League start for Brighton after returning to the bench on Sunday, after recovering from a hamstring injury he suffered in the pre-season friendly against Atletico Madrid.
It will be interesting to see how Brown does but he looks a good replacement as he is tall like Hemed but possesses a lot more pace than Hemed has which means you can on the floor or in the air to Brown.
Whoever starts against Arsenal, if Brighton continues the form they have shown recently Arsenal will have a tough afternoon ahead of themselves. This is how they might line up:
