Preview:Bournemouth vs Brighton & Hove Albion - prediction, team news, lineups

Two Premier League teams looking to build on impressive victories secured prior to the international break square off at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday afternoon as Bournemouth play host to Brighton & Hove Albion.

The Cherries and the Seagulls renew acquaintances seven months on from the latter securing a 2-1 win over the former at the Amex Stadium in their most recent meeting.

Match preview

After suffering a 4-2 defeat against reigning Premier League champions Liverpool on the opening weekend of the new season, Bournemouth concluded the month of August with back-to-back 1-0 victories against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur.

A solitary strike from Evanilson in the fifth minute earned a dominant Cherries outfit a richly deserved victory away against Spurs a fortnight ago, and the below-par hosts were fortunate not to lose by a bigger margin considering that Andoni Iraola’s men had 20 shots on goal.

Iraola admitted after the match that he “liked almost everything” about his team’s performance in North London, but he acknowledged that they could have been “punished” for lacking a killer instinct in the final third.

Bournemouth have collected six points in the Premier League games so far this term, which is their second-best return after three games in a top-flight campaign (seven in 2018-19). The Cherries are now looking to win three league matches in a row for the first time since December 2024.

Four victories were recorded by Bournemouth across their first six Premier League encounters with Saturday’s opponents Brighton, but they have since suffered defeat in five of their last six meetings with the Seagulls - a 3-0 home success in April 2024 represents their only win during this run.

Brighton were a goal behind heading into the final 25 minutes of their home clash with Manchester City prior to the international break, but they turned the game on its head to stun the Premier League giants and secure a 2-1 victory.

At the age of 39 years and 239 days, James Milner became the oldest ever penalty scorer in Premier League history when he netted the Seagulls’ equaliser against his former club, before fellow substitute Brajan Gruda finished calmly in the 89th minute to seal their first league win of the season, having previously drawn 1-1 with Fulham and lost 2-0 at Everton.

Fabian Hurzeler received plenty of plaudits for his inspired quadruple substitute midway through the second half, but the young German coach insisted after the match that “sometimes football is not too much about tactics”, highlighting his team’s “energy, intensity and togetherness on the pitch” as key factors behind their victory.

Since Brighton’s first Premier League fixture after their humbling 7-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest in February, only Liverpool (36), Man City (33) and Chelsea (33) have accumulated more points in the top flight than the Seagulls (31), while only Liverpool (36) have scored more goals in that time than Hurzeler’s side (34).

Brighton head into Saturday’s contest having won two of their last three away league visits to Bournemouth (L1) and they are looking to claim consecutive away wins against the Cherries for the first time since February 1932.

Bournemouth Premier League form:

L W W

Bournemouth form (all competitions):

L W L W

Brighton & Hove Albion Premier League form:

D L W

Brighton & Hove Albion form (all competitions):

D L W W

Team News

Bournemouth’s Adam Smith is sidelined for “some weeks” with a hamstring injury picked up in the win over Spurs, and Enes Unal remains unavailable with a long-term knee problem, while Lewis Cook will have a knee issue of his own assessed ahead of kickoff.

Julian Araujo is available to return after serving a two-match ban and he is set to battle with deadline-day loan signing Alex Jimenez for a start at right-back in the absence of Smith.

Ryan Christie will be pushing to start his first league game of the season in centre-midfield ahead of either Alex Scott or Tyler Adams, while new signings Amine Adli and Ben Gannon Doak are in contention to start their first game for the Cherries in the final third.

As for Brighton, Adam Webster and Solly March remain sidelined with knee injuries, while Mats Wieffer (knee), who has been operating as a makeshift right-back, should be fit to feature but will be assessed ahead of kickoff.

Gruda will be pushing to start his first league game of the season after netting the winner against Man City and he could rival Diego Gomez for a start in an advanced midfield role, but Georginio Rutter is likely to be preferred in that role by Hurzeler.

That would allow Danny Welbeck to continue as the central striker, while Saturday's game will likely come too soon for youthful new signings Charalampos Kostoulas, Stefanos Tzimas and Tom Watson, who have all been gradually eased into Hurzeler’s first-team plans since joining the club this summer.

Bournemouth possible starting lineup:

Petrovic; Araujo, Diakite, Senesi, Truffert; Adams, Scott; Brooks, Tavernier, Semenyo; Evanilson

Brighton & Hove Albion possible starting lineup:

Verbruggen; Veltman, Van Hecke, Dunk, De Cuyper; Baleba, Ayari; Minteh, Rutter, Mitoma; Welbeck

We say: Bournemouth 2-2 Brighton & Hove Albion

At least three goals have been scored across the last four meetings between Bournemouth and Brighton, and another entertaining contest between two attack-minded teams could be on the cards this weekend.

The Seagulls have got the better of the Cherries more often than not in recent encounters, but we are backing Iraola’s side to come away with at least a point on this occasion.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.