Brighton & Hove Albion will return to Premier League action on Saturday as they welcome visitors Arsenal to the AMEX Stadium.
Arsenal will be eager to bounce back from a tough defeat on their first game back after the Premier League return when they left the Etihad empty-handed following a strong Manchester City performance.
The Gunners manager, Mikel Arteta, named a starting 11 that many would not consider to be the north London sides best with the likes of Alexander Lacazette and club-record signing Nicolas Pepe being named on the bench.
Brazilian international David Luiz is suspended after his sending off against City on Wednesday, and Mesut Ozil could return to the matchday squad after not travelling with the side due to ‘tactical reasons’ according to Arteta.
Brighton will need to come into the game on Saturday with a fighting mentality as they find themselves in another relegation battle.
Sitting in 15th spot only two points above the drop zone means that Graham Potter's men will not want to let many points drop in their final games of the season.
Despite the lengthy spell away from action, Brighton winger José Izquierdo still remains unavailable with a knee injury which has seen him ruled out for many games already this campaign.
Brighton will fancy their chances and hope of making it a season double over Arsenal after a Neal Maupay winner in the 80th minute sealed three points for the south coast side at the Emirates in December in a 2-1 victory.
When looking at how both sides could shape up for the weekend, I cannot see Arsenal allowing themselves to drop consecutive defeats even with their dreary record away from home.
With their strongest 11 expected to take to the pitch, I think that they will see their way past Brighton, however against a stubborn defence it will not be an easy afternoon for the Gunners’ front line.
I do think that the pace of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will cause Brighton problems in behind and that could be their undoing.
Match preview written by Liam Rice.
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