On Saturday afternoon, Brighton & Hove Albion will host recently promoted Ipswich Town at the Amex Stadium in a Premier League match.
The two teams square up for the first time since their 1-1 Championship match on the South Coast in February 2017.
Since the appointment of 31-year-old head coach Fabian Hurzeler, Brighton has emerged as one of the most impressive teams of the current Premier League season, having collected seven of the nine points that were available.
The Seagulls won their first two Premier League games against Everton and Manchester United before easily defeating League Two Crawley Town 4-0 in the EFL Cup. However, a fortnight ago, they were held to a 1-1 draw by 10-man Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, ending their unbeaten start to the season.
Just minutes after the break, Declan Rice was controversially awarded his second yellow card for a confrontation with Joel Veltman, after Kai Havertz had given Arsenal the lead in the first half. Brighton continued to control play and managed to save a point by a Joao Pedro close-range goal.
Hurzeler’s Seagulls are currently third in the Premier League table; only the top two teams, Manchester City and Liverpool (nine points each), have more points than the Seagulls thus far. Hurzeler was “a little bit disappointed” to leave North London with only a point, but the German was ultimately “satisfied” with a draw against a team of Arsenal’s caliber.Brighton has reason to be confident going into Saturday’s game because, over the past 12 months, they have only lost four of their previous 21 home games in all competitions. Additionally, they have only lost one of their previous 13 Premier League games at the Amex against newly promoted teams, that being a 1-0 loss to Fulham in February 2023.
After three games this season, Ipswich is one of six Premier League teams—including fellow recently promoted teams Southampton and Leicester City—that have not yet claimed a Premier League victory.
The Tractor Boys lost on penalties to League Two AFC Wimbledon in the EFL Cup after opening their first season back in the top flight for 22 years with losses to Liverpool and Manchester City. However, they did manage to pick up their first league point in a 1-1 draw with Fulham prior to the international break.
Brighton & Hove Albion possible starting lineup:
Verbruggen; Veltman, Dunk, Van Hecke, Hinshelwood; Baleba, Ayari; Adingra, Rutter, Mitoma; Welbeck
Ipswich Town possible starting lineup:
Verbruggen; Veltman, Dunk, Van Hecke, Hinshelwood; BClarke, Szmodics, Hutchinson; Delap
Kick off time: 10 am ET Saturday (September 14)
Venue: Amex Stadium
TV Channel: Peacock Premium
Peacock is streaming Premier League.
