Premier League: Top Four Within Seagulls’ and Forest’s Reach

Brighton & Hove Albion vs Nottingham Forest

Both clubs are in the midst of a dream start to their Premier League season so far.

Tied at eight points and sitting in sixth and seventh, Brighton and Forest have identical Premier League 2024 results, notching two wins and two draws apiece.

They are also unbeaten and have already managed to slay an English giant early into their campaigns.

Brighton stunned Manchester United last month after Joao Pedro scored in the fifth minute of added time, much to the dismay of the visiting Red Devils.

Forest, on the other hand, proved to be a thorn to Liverpool’s side, ending their perfect start to the season with a much-deserved 1-0 victory at Anfield—a first win at the Reds’ lair in 55 years.

That’s why Sunday’s match-up at the American Express Stadium is crucial to both clubs, as a win wouldn’t only guarantee an undefeated streak to continue, but it would also propel a rise to the top four—granted, the top teams produce lacklustre results.

 

Talking Points

Fabian Hurzeler aiming to go seven games without a loss

Brighton fans, be honest. Were you expecting your club to be where they are right now when the 31-year-old manager from St. Pauli arrived?

Now going seven games in, Brighton are yet to taste defeat, and have proven they can hang with the big boys with points claimed over Man United and Arsenal.

“We have to learn a lot of things about how to win a game like this, therefore we tried to focus on the process. I love to learn from games like this because you learn a lot of things about the individual players and also the team performance,” Hurzeler said after his side came out victorious over Wolves in the League Cup.

The win was his fourth in charge.

Brighton opened the match with a rocket from Carlos Baleba in the 14^th minute. 17 minutes later, Wolves found themselves in a 2-0 hole after Simon Adingra cut in from the left flank and blasted a shot past Jose Sa—yet another goal from outside the box.

Goncalo Guedes pulled one back for the visitors before half-time, but Ferdi Kadioglu’s tap-in in the 85^th minute meant the Seagulls advance into the next round—never mind the fact that Tommy Doyle gave the home fans a near heart attack after scoring Wolves’ second in added time.

And with Brighton once again playing as hosts, a massive result over Forest will have everyone jumping for joy.

 

Forest hope to sustain early momentum

Forest’s win over Liverpool is one of the biggest upsets of the campaign, no matter how early it still is in the Premier League season.

Arne Slot had his Liverpool squad flying in their first three games and was looking to secure a fourth win in a row against a side that were unable to find a win at Anfield for five decades.

But the Dutchman had his first taste of the English top flight’s brutal nature when his side failed to break through against the hardened visitors.

Forest Boss Nuno Espirito Santo had his tactics work to perfection against the Reds, and he ought to do the same against the high-flying Seagulls.

Anthony Elanga, the provider to Callum Hudson-Odoi’s goal, spoke about the positive vibe surrounding the win over Liverpool.

“We went to Liverpool and not many teams can beat them and play the way we did—we got rewarded in the end,” he said.

Still, they’re wary not to get ahead of themselves. It’s a long season after all.

“We have started the season well, but we have still got 35 games left—we have to go game by game.”

 

History

There have been 41 matches contested between Brighton and Forest, with the overall head-to-head results leaning slightly into the latter’s favour (17W-11D-13L).

However, Brighton were able to complete the league double over Forest last season, winning 3-2 and 1-0, respectively.

 

Betting Tip

Despite both teams having the same record, the SBOTOP Premier League 2024 odds favour Brighton (1.80) to keep their win streak over Forest (3.98). Meanwhile, a stalemate is priced at 3.14.

For my money, I don’t see them being that far apart from each other, so a slight handicap in favour of Forest will do the job.

If you’re feeling lucky, getting the score right on at 0-0 is priced at 11.50, whilst a 2-0 victory to the Seagulls is at 8.60.

There’s a lot of alternative bets for this one, and if you won’t follow my initial tip, then I do believe putting money on total goals (2-3) priced at 1.93 is perhaps the next best thing, looking back to both teams’ past results.

   

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