West Brom v Brighton: Inside track on The Seagulls
West Brom welcome Brighton to The Hawthorns this weekend, get a proper look at The Seagulls here.
We spoke with the team at We Are Brighton, to get an expert take on Graham Potter's side.
See what they had to say here.
How would you say the season's been so far for Brighton?
Frustrating is the best word.
At times, we have gone toe-to-toe with the best sides in the country. Manchester United had to rely on a 97th minute penalty awarded after the final whistle to beat us, we have taken four points off Liverpool, beaten Spurs and given Manchester City a fright in a 1-0 defeat at the Etihad. If we could play that well consistently, we would be flying.
Instead, we have failed to beat any side in the bottom half of the table at the Amex so far with the lowlight being scraping a 1-1 draw thanks to an 84th minute equaliser against a Sheffield United side who played for an hour with 10 men.
We are so close to being a really good team... And yet somehow equally close to going down.
What seems to be the missing ingredient at the Amex, we regularly see Brighton perform well but miss out on points?
Not taking our chances. I am not one to read too much into xG stats, but Brighton are fifth in the Premier League on xG.
If we had a clinical striker to put away the opportunities we create, we would be laughing. You just have to look at the last two games at the Amex; 41 shots in 180 minutes of football results in a 0-0 draw with Aston Villa and a 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace.
Brighton do sit perilously above the bottom three, do you think there's danger that they could be dragged into a relegation fight?
I think this Saturday's game at the Hawthorns will decide that.
Before losing to Palace, we were six games unbeaten and with eyes firmly up the table. Losing 2-1 to a 94th minute goal against your arch rivals who only had two touches in your penalty area is bound to cause some sort of psychological damage.
If we bounce back with a win against West Brom, then the Palace game goes down as a blip. If we follow it up with defeat against one of the few sides below us, then the confidence from that good run is probably shattered and we are right back in the mire.
What kind of football can we expect to see against West Brom from Brighton?
The concern from a Brighton point-of-view is that our best results come against sides who attack us.
We have won eight league games since the start of 2020 and seven of those have been when we had less possession and can play rapid passing football into spaces on the break.
Against sides who sit back and allow us to dominate, we struggle to break through. And then when we do break through and get a sight of goal, we normally miss anyway.
Roy Hodgson exploited our problems perfectly in midweek and I would be shocked if Big Sam has not looked at that and thought "Right, that is how we beat Brighton".
Are there any injury issues right now?
Tariq Lamptey has been absent since mid-December and Adam Webster, who has been our best centre back this season, has missed the last couple of games. Solly March is out for the rest of the season and he too had been outstanding.
Adam Lallana, Danny Welbeck and Davy Propper are all just coming back from injury. So many absentees makes our recent wins against Liverpool and Spurs even more impressive... And then they all return and we lose to Palace. That is the life of a Brighton fan.
What's your predicted XI for the game?
You have got more chance of picking the lottery numbers than you have of second-guessing what Graham Potter will do.
This season we have seen five centre backs in the starting line up at home to Burnley, three out-and-out strikers against Liverpool, no strikers against Arsenal and no central midfielders at Leeds.
Only Potter knows what he will do, but it would not come as a surprise to see third choice goalkeeper Jason Steele playing on the left wing or something.
What have you made of West Brom from afar, do you think they have any chance of survival in the top flight?
I think it all hinges on if Brighton can get out of it, really.
Burnley should be too good to go down, Palace unfortunately are a long way away from the relegation zone. If we can pull clear, that effectively leaves West Brom fighting with Fulham and Newcastle for 17th.
If West Brom can pull us in though, suddenly it is a four-horse race to finish 16th or 17th and the Baggies chances improve. Saturday is a massive game really.
Your match prediction?
Lots of Brighton possession, lots of shots, not much to show for it. A 1-1 draw
