Brighton vs Bournemouth predictions: Mitoma to star for the Seagulls
&w=707&quality=100)
- Bournemouth are three points ahead of Brighton
- Both teams are battling for European finishes
- Recommended bet: Kaoru Mitoma to score or assist
Two teams in the hunt for European positions meet at the Amex Stadium on Tuesday evening, when Brighton take on south coast rivals Bournemouth in the Premier League.
The Seagulls are ninth in the standings heading into this clash, just a victory behind the Cherries, meaning that this promises to be an enthralling clash with plenty of goals expected.
Team news
&w=707&quality=100)
Albion duo Danny Welbeck and Joel Veltman both missed the win over Southampton at the weekend due to injury and the pair will need to be assessed closer to the game.
Jason Steele, Lewis Dunk, Ferdi Kadioglu and James Milner all remain sidelined, while Igor Julio is out for the season because of a hamstring injury that required surgery.
The Cherries will be forced into at least one change following Illia Zabarnyi's red card in defeat to Wolves on Saturday, with James Hill likely to shift inside to centre-back and Lewis Cook shifting to right-back.
Julian Araujo, Adam Smith, Marcos Senesi and Enes Unal are all in the treatment room.
The stats
Brighton are on a three-game winning run in all competitions, beating Chelsea twice before Saturday's 4-0 thumping of Southampton.
The Seagulls have won their last two home fixtures, scoring five goals and conceding once during that period.
Brighton ace Kaoru Mitoma has scored in each of his last three matches.
Bournemouth's two-match winning run in all competitions was ended by Wolves at the weekend, the visitors securing a 1-0 victory at the Vitality Stadium.
The Cherries are on an eight-game unbeaten run away from home in the league and cup, winning six times and drawing twice.
Prediction
Brighton have turned things around since the 7-0 humiliation at the hands of Nottingham Forest and are looking to extend their winning streak to four games when Bournemouth visit.
The Seagulls are playing some great football right now, but so are the Cherries and the visitors will be itching to respond quickly from the home defeat to Wolves last time out, a contest the hosts had a man sent off in.
It is difficult to pick a winner between two evenly-matched sides and, therefore, the better play here is to side with Mitoma to score or assist.
The Japan international has been in fine scoring form, having netted in his last three outings and in five of his last seven, evidence of his impressive attacking play.
Also a threat when it comes to carving open chances for his team-mates to score, with three league assists to his name, Mitoma can put in another big performance for Brighton.
Win up to £250,000 with LiveScore 6!
Win up to £250,000 with our free-to-play game, LiveScore 6!
