Brighton & Hove Albion winger Kaoru Mitoma will be looking to break a club goal-involvement record in the Premier League when the Seagulls face Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Tuesday.
Mitoma has established himself as a key player during his breakthrough season under head coach Roberto De Zerbi, scoring 10 goals and providing six assists in 28 matches across all competitions.
The 25-year-old became the first Japanese player in Premier League history to score seven goals in a single season when he netted his latest strike in Brighton's pulsating 3-3 draw at home against Brentford on Saturday.
Mitoma has enjoyed a fine run of form in front of goal in recent weeks, as he has been directly involved in 10 goals in his last 14 top-flight appearances – scoring seven and assisting three.
The winger has either scored or assisted in each of his last four league matches for Brighton, with this run starting with a goal and an assist in the 4-0 home victory over West Ham United at the start of last month.
Mitoma then provided an assist in successive games against Leeds United and Crystal Palace – drawing 2-2 with the former and winning 1-0 against the latter – before scoring his most recent goal in the aforementioned draw with Brentford last weekend.
© Reuters
Should Mitoma contribute with either a goal or an assist in Brighton's clash against Bournemouth on Tuesday, the Japanese attacker will become the first Seagulls player in Premier League history to register a goal involvement in five successive matches.
Mitoma's impressive form has helped Brighton challenge for European qualification, with De Zerbi's men currently sitting sixth in the Premier League table and seven points behind the top four with a game in hand.
The winger will fancy his chances of finding the net against Bournemouth after scoring an 87th-minute winner to seal a narrow 1-0 victory over the Cherries at the Amex Stadium in February.
Success away against Bournemouth has proven challenging for Brighton in recent seasons, though, as they have lost each of their last four visits to the Cherries, including all three in the Premier League.
The Seagulls suffered a 3-1 loss at the Vitality Stadium last time out, but they can be optimistic of success on Tuesday as they currently boast the longest unbeaten away run in the Premier League.
Indeed, De Zerbi and co have put together a six-game unbeaten run on the road, with wins over Wolverhampton Wanderers, Southampton and Everton followed by draws with Leicester City, Crystal Palace and Leeds.
Brighton can consolidate sixth place in the table if they claim maximum points against Bournemouth, while they will also hope fellow European hopefuls Brentford and Liverpool – sitting in seventh and eighth place respectively – drop points in respective away games against Manchester United and Chelsea.
Oliver Thomas
