Preview: Brighton & Hove Albion vs. Middlesbrough

Brighton & Hove Albion will be looking to put an end to a poor run of form this Saturday when they host Middlesbrough at the Amex Stadium.

The Seagulls have struggled under new boss Sami Hyypia so far this season and currently sit 19th in the table with just 11 points from as many games.

They go into this weekend's fixture without a win in seven, although Hyypia has at least stopped the rot when it comes to defeats, with their last four matches ending all square.

Goalscoring is becoming an issue, however, with the Seagulls netting just 10 times in the league since Leonardo Ulloa's summer departure, and just twice in their last five league outings.

One positive for Hyypia to focus on is their home form, with Brighton not having lost in front of their own fans since the opening day of the season, although their last three games at the Amex have ended as draws.

There was bad news in the form of another lengthy injury for Andrew Crofts this week, however, with the midfielder expected to miss the remainder of the season.

Middlesbrough, meanwhile, are flying high in the playoff positions and find themselves just one point adrift of the Championship summit after 11 games.

Things are very tight up there, however, with just two points separating the top eight, so Aitor Karanka will know that a string of good results for his side could put them in a commanding position - particularly with those around them regularly slipping up.

They will feel confident going into this game too having impressed on the road so far this season, being beaten just once away from home in all competitions.

They are unbeaten in their last six league outings home and away, and Karanka will be particularly pleased with the four clean sheets that his side have kept in that time.

Mustapha Carayol and Damia remain long-term injury absentees, but there could be a role for new loan signing Milos Veljkovic.

Recent form

Brighton: DDDWDL

Middlesbrough: WDDDWW

Possible starting lineups

Brighton: Stockdale; Bruno, Greer, Dunk, Bennett; Lua Lua, McCourt, Ince, Teixeira; Forster-Caskey; O'Grady

Middlesbrough: Konstantopoulos; Fredericks, Ayala, Omeruo, Friend; Adomah, Leadbitter, Clayton, Reach; Tomlin; Kike

Sports Mole says: 1-2