Brighton & Hove Albion will be aiming to snap a run of five Premier League matches without a victory when they welcome Brentford to the American Express Stadium on Friday.
The Seagulls were held to a 1-1 stalemate by West Ham United last time out as Mats Wieffer’s opener five minutes into the second half was cancelled out by Mohammed Kudus just shy of the hour mark.
Since beating Manchester City and Bournemouth in consecutive games either side of the November international break, Fabian Hurzeler’s men have picked up just three of the next 15 points available, which has seen them drop to 10th in the standings.
Brighton will be keen to get back to winning ways in their penultimate outing of 2024 but will have to do so without leading goalscorer Danny Welbeck, who is currently nursing an ankle problem.
Jack Hinshelwood and James Milner are also unavailable due to knee injuries, while Ferdi Kadioglu misses out through a muscle injury.
Barely five minutes after opening his Brighton account, Wieffer was forced off with an injury and is a doubt for this one alongside Jan Paul van Hecke, who was accidentally kicked in the head by Carlos Baleba.
However, Adam Webster and Solly March are both in contention to make the matchday squad here, according to Hurzeler.
Predicted Brighton & Hove Albion XI vs. Brentford
Bart Verbruggen has long fended off competition from Jason Steele to emerge as Brighton’s undisputed starter between the sticks and is set for a 16th straight start.
Pervis Estupinian and Joel Veltman are expected to man either full-back positions, but Igor Julio could get the nod to partner Lewis Dunk in the heart of the defence following Van Hecke’s head injury.
Baleba was impressive in the draw against West Ham, so he should retain his place in central midfield, where he could be joined by Yasin Ayari, as Wieffer’s availability currently hangs in the balance.
Kaoru Mitoma and Joao Pedro are expected to take up two of the three attacking places behind Georginio Rutter, with Yankuba Minteh and Brajan Gruda set to compete for the last spot.
Predicted Brighton & Hove Albion XI vs. Brentford:
Verbruggen, Estupinian, Julio, Dunk, Veltman, Ayari, Baleba, Mitoma, Pedro, Minteh, Rutter
