With five games left to play, Brighton look in a precarious position of first glance of the Championship. The Seagulls may be only three places above the relegation zone but they do have a sizeable advantage in terms of points over the sides who currently make up the bottom three. Chris Hughton’s men are nine points clear of third bottom Millwall but they have played a game more than them so they are not safe, yet. One more win would go a long way to ensuring that they do stay in the division and it goes without saying that they will hope to achieve that as soon as they can to avoid it going to the last couple of games when the pressure will be huge, particularly as their final two games are against two of the top four.
It turned out to be a pretty good Easter Weekend for Bournemouth. Despite going behind in both games they recovered to take four points and return to the top of the table with the end of the season looming. Eddie’s Howe men drew at play-off chasing Ipswich before coming back from two goals down at home to Birmingham on Monday – eventually winning 4-2. The nature of the automatic promotion picture in the Championship this season means that any dropped points allow provide the other clubs with a an opportunity to capitalise and move ahead with games quickly running out. The fact that the Cherries are playing on Friday night could play to their favour, though, as a win would leave them four points clear and another week at the top of the table.
Since Hughton took charge at Brighton following the sacking of Sam Hyppia in December, there has been a definite improvement which has seen them pull relatively clear of the bottom three. It is only recently where they have started to look over their shoulders following a run of only one win in their last six games. It is the worst record since the new manager was appointed and with a very difficult run-in where they face sides who are currently 1st, 3rd and 4th, you can understand why people are beginning to talk about relegation where Brighton are concerned.
It is hard to argue that Bournemouth have not been the most impressive team in the Championship this season. They have been involved in battle for automatic promotion from the outset and have been one of the most entertaining sides to watch as well. Those claims are evidenced by the fact that they have scored more goals than any other team and lost the fewest number of times. Howe will be well aware that the job is far from complete, though, and considering how competitive this division is, they will have to be at their best in the remaining games to go up automatically.
Both sides come into this match knowing that a win would be huge in terms of achieving their individual goals. A recent drop in form will be a concern for Hughton and he will know how hard it will be against the league leaders. That being said, Bournemouth have to carry a lot of expectation such is the standard they have set this season and there are signs that could be getting to them. They have managed just one win in their last five away games and have not kept a clean sheet in any of their last six games on their travels. Brighton may not be the most reliable in terms of backing them to get a result here but they have scored 14 goals in their last seven home games and I think they will pose the visitors a lot of problems, particularly in the early stages of the game.
Both teams to score 5/6 @ Betvictor
