Our live stream ahead of Saturdays Premier League match, Brighton and Hove Albion vs Wolves is now up, kicking off at 17.30 GMT.
You can keep an eye on the commentary as it happens below, but first, we take a preview into the fixture, lineups, predictions and much more…
Brighton welcomed current crisis club Arsenal in midweek, who had just been boosted by an impressive defeat of Chelsea – hoping to finally end a six-game winless run in the top flight.
However, Graham Potter’s men were again unable to claim a much-needed victory, as they fell to a 1-0 loss courtesy of substitute Alexandre Lacazette’s strike just 29 seconds after his introduction.
Having previously played out three consecutive draws, a lifeless encounter looked to be heading the same way before the ex-Lyon striker’s quickfire intervention.
Unexpectedly, Brighton boss Potter left forwards Neal Maupay and Danny Welbeck on the bench – two of six changes made to the starting XI for the Gunners’ visit. His side endured another frustrating evening in attack though, with Alireza Jahanbakhsh providing little threat up-front.
Brighton remain two points above the drop zone in 17th, but have been sucked closer towards the bottom three in recent weeks.
As their last Premier League win came back in late November, the visit of injury-hit Wolves perhaps provides a realistic opportunity to end that miserable run before those sides below catch up with them.
Wolves arrive on the South Coast aiming to bounce back from a heart-breaking last gasp defeat against Manchester United in midweek.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s men looked set for a hard-earned point at the Theatre of Dreams until Marcus Rashford struck in the 93rd minute to deny them a draw.
That result leaves Wolves 12th in the table, with a growing focus on their diminished goalscoring record – they have just 15 goals from 16 games so far this term.
As the inevitable consequence of Diogo Jota’s departure and the unfortunate head injury to star striker Raul Jimenez, Wolves’ callow stand-in strikers have floundered. Since Jimenez suffered a sickening skull fracture against Arsenal, they have failed to find the back of the net in three of their last six games.
Even a much-changed attack – featuring Adama Traore and Pedro Neto in the most advanced positions – could not yield a goal against United. Previously, ex-Porto prodigy Fabio Silva had been hastily promoted to the starting XI without time to acclimatise to life in the Black Country and he has understandably failed to flourish.
Saturday’s clash of struggling sides – who between them have just one win in their last 13 games combined – offers Nuno and his misfiring attack an opportunity to start 2021 on a brighter note, with three straight home games to follow.
The two clubs last met in March, battling out a goalless draw at the Molineux Stadium…
PRESS CONFERENCE:
Graham Potter
On accepting criticism…
“If you don’t win football matches it’s harder to convince people that you’re on the right path, I can understand that.”
“We took over a team that finished with 36 points and we got them to 41 in the first season. We changed the playing style and added some younger players. But you want to keep improving and results as it stands have not improved, so you can understand the criticism.”
“We have got ambition, We have gone into every game this season believing that we can win, but we haven’t. At the same time if you’re not lucky, you can find yourself in our situation.”
“The way the game is and the media is you can be described as being in a relegation battle after ten games, when you’ve still got 28 to play.”
“That’s just life and football at the highest level and I accept that. Just because it’s the most challenging time of my career, it doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing, I know I am really fortunate to have this opportunity to find out about myself and come through a tough period.”
On support of Albion fans…
“I would like to say thank you to the ones that have supported me, because there’s quite a few out there that have throughout a difficult year. They understand what’s happening and where we’re trying to go.”
“I want to promise them that we will be fighting every day to improve the team. It’s been a tough year and I understand that not everyone is happy but the majority of the ones I have met have been amazing.”
Nuno Espirito Santo
On young players learning from last game…
“They did well. The situation is that we can decide the right moments for players to play and the answer was good.”
“It was a game where they showed, and everybody showed, that in a tough game they did really well. But the game teaches that you have to be focused until the last moment.”
“I already trusted them before the game. We trust them because they work hard and we know that they are young, there will be mistakes and it’s up to us to correct their mistakes so they can become better. Our philosophy is simple.”
“It’s a tough lesson to take but it’s a good learning moment, because when things don’t go well, you must react and learn fast. We try to improve them, but football is made of good moments and bad moments, and it’s about how they react to it.”
“But I’m happy because we can rely on them. Our squad is small because we work like this, its young because we believe in them and we have a chance to put them to play when we think that is the right time to do it.”
On having three days between matches…
“It will make a difference, I hope, but the fitness of the players was very good when we only had 48 hours between games.”
On the difficulty of planning during a pandemic…
“All the managers and everybody has accepted that this situation is unprecedented and has never happened before, so we are reacting to situations on a day-by-day basis, that you cannot plan or predict.”
“Every time there is a test you are worried. Every time you hear about the cases rising you are worried. You are worried about the players, you worry about the schedule, you start worrying about your future.”
“But we are not away from society. These feelings go all over society – everybody is worried.”
On the transfer window opening…
“We have to sit down, plan and I think it’s a good chance to rebalance our squad, so we’ll see. We are ready to make decisions.”
On his assessment of 2020…
“I usually don’t make assessments on these kinds of situations. But it’s a new season for everybody, with challenges and we are reacting as things go by.”
“It’s a new cycle for us, we are trying new things, trying new solutions, and it’s a day-by-day process, and not the moment to do a proper assessment because in a couple of days’ time, we play again.”
“We’re in the middle of something that is so unpredictable and changes week after week and the perception is totally different, so we work on this.”
FORM:
Brighton & Hove Albion Premier League form: LLDDDL
Wolverhampton Wanderers Premier League form: LLWLDL
LINEUPS:
Brighton & Hove Albion possible starting lineup:
Sanchez; Webster, Dunk, White; Veltman, Bissouma, Propper, Lallana, March; Maupay, Welbeck
Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Patricio; Coady, Saiss, Kilman; Ait-Nouri, Neves, Moutinho, Semedo; Podence; Neto, Silva
THATSAGOAL TIP:
Wolves to Win – 17/10 with FanTeam
It hasn’t been the best of seasons so far for Wolves. Having finished seventh in consecutive seasons, Wolves now languish in 12th. Their record against top ten sides leaves a lot to be desired but just one loss to teams beneath them in the current table bodes well for their trip to the South coast.
Brighton have won just twice all season and are winless in seven. They’ve scored just five in that period have conceded ten despite facing Fulham and Sheffield United in that run. Even without Raul Jimenez, Wolves are favourites with good reason.
Time to take a look at our Brighton vs Wolves live match stream as it happens…
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