Can the Seagulls soar once more? They take on Watford on Saturday

Brighton & Hove Albion are stuck in a bit of a rut at the moment – going ahead in games or dominating early stages of matches has been common of late, however, holding onto leads that have been gained has been a massive issue that is in desperate need of being addressed. Against West Ham, for example, Albion went 2-0 up before throwing it away within minutes, resulting in a 2-2 draw. On Tuesday, as another example, arguably the worst 45 minutes we have ever seen from them in the Premier League occurred, resulting in a 2-0 lead swiftly turning into a 4-2 deficit, ensuing three dropped points.

Now, though, Chris Hughton will look forward to a promising set of fixtures with only one match against the top six in the next eight. This run starts with Watford, who, in all honesty look on paper a hard side to beat due to their own form being rather positive. One major factor that needs to be considered, though, is the fact that this fixture will be played at the Amex Stadium. Brighton have made this place a fortress over recent years and Hughton and his players alike will be licking their lips at having the opportunity to play there five times in the next eight Premier League fixtures.

Although things may look negative at the moment, it certainly seems as if a bright spark of positivity could only be just around the corner with some predicting – if they can hold onto results with more effect – the possibility of reaching the infamous 40-point mark that could keep them up in the top division for a third season. This will be a challenge, of course, though it certainly doesn’t seem impossible in any means. Even reaching 35 points could be enough this season due to the lack of quality at the bottom of the table. Hughton, though, will want to take this one game at a time. After all, he says, “it’s important that we don’t get complacent.”

Team News

Looking ahead to Saturday’s fixture, there are no fresh injury concerns for the home side. Unfortunately, Jose Izquierdo remains side-lined with a knee problem, but, this bad news is cancelled out by some fantastic news that bothAlireza Jahanbakhsh and Bernardo da Silva are likely to be able to return to action. If they don’t start or they aren’t in the squad altogether, it would be Hughton’s decision to not take the risk rather than the fact that they’re not ready themselves.

For the visitors, arguably their most key player Abdoulaye Doucouré is set to miss out on the fixture as a result of a knee injury whilst Kiko Femenía and Sebastian Prödl are both completely unavailable for selection.

Opta Statistics

Brighton have only won 1 of their last 8 matches against Watford, drawing three and losing the remaining four.
Watford lost their last away match but they haven’t lost consecutive away matches since February-May 2018 when they lost six away fixtures in a row.
If Brighton lose on Saturday it will be the first time they have lost four consecutive league matches since 2011, all the way back when Gus Poyet was in charge of the first team.
The Seagulls have never lost a Premier League match in February as they went unbeaten during the period last season, winning twice and drawing once.