Match Preview
Fulham vrs Brighton
Premier League Match Day 27 23_24 at Craven Cottage
Saturday 2nd March 2024, KO: 15:00
Referee:
Simon Hooper (Wiltshire)
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A resurgent Fulham side facea Brighton & Hove Albion, who crashed out of the FA Cup in midweek, at Craven Cottage on Saturday afternoon.
The two teams meet for the first time since the end of October when they played out a 1-1 draw at the American Express Stadium.
Fulham ended their miserable 11-game winless away run in the Premier League in surprising yet impressive fashion as they beat Manchester United 2-1 last weekend – their first triumph at Old Trafford since 2003.
It was a day to remember for Nigerian duo Calvin Bassey and Alex Iwobi, who were both on the scoresheet in the second half; the former of whom had his first Fulham goal cancelled out by Harry Maguire in the 89th minute, but Iwobi snatched maximum points for the Cottagers with a dramatic 97th-minute winner.
Marco Silva lauded his side's "strong mentality" in a "well-deserved" victory at Old Trafford, but they still remain in 12th place in the Premier League table, five points behind Newcastle United in 10th and six adrift of ninth-placed Wolverhampton Wanderers, who they will face in a weeks' time.
Fulham, who are looking to win back-to-back league matches for just the second time this season, will welcome a return to Craven Cottage where they have accumulated 22 of their 32 points in the top flight this term, winning seven games out of 13 in the process.
The Cottagers can be confident of claiming a positive result on Saturday as they have never lost a Premier League game against Brighton in seven meetings, winning three times and drawing four – only against Norwich City have they played more matches against an opponent without losing.
Brighton were unable to progress to their second successive FA Cup quarter-final after they suffered a narrow 1-0 away defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers in the fifth round on Wednesday night.
Despite boasting 72% possession, the Seagulls lacked a cutting edge in the final third as they fired only two of their 18 shots on target, and the closely-fought contest was ultimately settled by Mario Lemina's close-range strike after just 79 seconds.
Roberto De Zerbi was left to rue the plethora of missed opportunities at Molineux, but the Italian boss has still taken plenty of positives from the performance of his youthful Brighton side as the club continues to battle with a long injury list.
The Seagulls are sure to have one eye on their Europa League last-16 tie with Roma later this month, but they must first shift their focus to an important trip to Fulham as they endeavour to consolidate their place in the top seven and potentially edge closer to sixth-placed Man United, who face rivals Manchester City on Sunday.
Brighton's away form in London leaves a little to be desired as they have failed to win any of their five matches in the capital this season, while they have also lost two of their last there Premier League visits to Craven Cottage, having previously won three away games in a row at Fulham whilst competing in the Championship between 2014 and 2016.
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Fulham have never lost to Brighton in seven Premier League meetings; only against Norwich City (eight) have the Cottagers played more matches in the competition without ever losing, while it is the most the Seagulls have faced a side in the Premier League without ever winning.
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Brighton have lost two of their last three top-flight games away to Fulham.
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Fulham could win back-to-back league matches for just the second time this season.
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They have won just one of their last five home games in all competitions (D2, L2).
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The Cottagers have failed to score in 10 Premier League games this season although they did find the net in all four of their top-flight matches in February.
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Marco Silva is unbeaten in all three Premier League home matches as a manager versus Brighton, winning with Everton and Fulham, and drawing while in charge of Watford.
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Their last three Premier League goals at Craven Cottage have been scored by Rodrigo Muniz. The Brazilian could become the first player since Louis Saha in 2003 to score four consecutive top-flight home goals for Fulham.
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Alex Iwobi’s late winner for Fulham against Manchester United on Saturday was his fourth Premier League goal of the season, his most in a single campaign. Only once has he scored in consecutive appearances in the competition, doing so in March/April 2016 with Arsenal.
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After winning five of their opening six Premier League matches this season, Brighton have won only five of the last 20 (D9, L6).
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The Seagulls have scored four or more goals in five Premier League games this season - only Arsenal and Liverpool have done so in more matches.
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Brighton are winless in all five of their Premier League away fixtures against London sides this season (D2, L3).
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They are aiming to keep consecutive Premier League away clean sheets for the first time since February 2021 under Graham Potter.
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Pascal Gross has either scored or assisted a goal in each of his last four Premier League appearances, with a goal and four assists.
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Brighton have made 96 changes to their starting line-ups in the Premier League this season, at least 25 more than any other side.
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Source Oliver Thomas at SportsMole/BBC Sports