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

Premier League gameweek 22 concludes with a fascinating south-coast showdown on Monday night, as Brighton & Hove Albion welcome Bournemouth to the Amex Stadium.

The Seagulls most recently took down managerless Manchester United in the FA Cup, while the Cherries suffered penalty-shootout heartache at the hands of Newcastle United.

Match preview

Few teams will go to both the Etihad and Old Trafford within the space of a few days and avoid defeat at both locations, but Fabian Hurzeler masterminded two stellar results with his Brighton crop at Manchester City and Man Utd's headquarters.

After the Seagulls dug in for a 1-1 draw away to Pep Guardiola's men, their quest for FA Cup glory continued in a terrific 2-1 victory over Man United, who were inevitably haunted by former flame Danny Welbeck once again.

The festive period was a forgettable one for Monday's hosts, who failed to win any of their six Premier League matches in December, but they have started 2026 as they mean to continue with two triumphs from their last three in all competitions, contributing to a four-match unbeaten run.

Brighton began the gameweek in 11th place in the Premier League table, and no matter what transpires before they take to the field on Monday night, they will remain within touching distance of the European spots with all three points.

Hurzeler's men will also welcome a return to a ground where they have claimed 19 of their 29 Premier League points this season, and the hosts have suffered just two losses in their last 18 top-flight matches at the Amex Stadium, both against Aston Villa.

A key aspect of Hurzeler's Premier League tenure has been Brighton's commitment to entertainment, having both scored and conceded in 41 of their 59 top-flight games under his wing, the highest ratio of any manager to take charge of at least 50 Premier League matches.

Bournemouth's statistics make for pleasant reading for the neutral fans too, as the Cherries' last seven matches have seen a staggering 35 goals at both ends of the field, six of which came at St James' Park in a thrilling 3-3 FA Cup draw with Newcastle.

However, the Cherries' fightback was in vain as the Magpies came up trumps on spot kicks, thus bringing an Antoine Semenyo-less Bournemouth crashing back down to earth after their 3-2 success over Tottenham Hotspur ended an 11-match winless run.

Trailing Brighton by three points in the bottom half of the standings, the visitors now set out to end an appalling nine-game streak without victory on the road; their only away success this season coincidentally came against Tottenham in August.

Since then, Andoni Iraola's side have conceded at least two goals in every game on their travels, and Bournemouth are also on a four-game Premier League losing streak at the Amex Stadium, so September's 2-1 home win over Brighton may count for nought.

Brighton & Hove Albion Premier League form:

Brighton & Hove Albion form (all competitions):

Bournemouth Premier League form:

Bournemouth form (all competitions):

Team News

The big team news on the Brighton front is the return of in-demand midfielder Carlos Baleba from the Africa Cup of Nations, but Hurzeler issued a stern warning to the Manchester United target about competition for places in his Friday press conference.

Nevertheless, Baleba's return will be one of two boosts for the hosts, who also have Yankuba Minteh back from a dead leg, while Diego Gomez is seemingly OK despite sustaining a knock at Old Trafford.

Mats Wieffer (toe), Solly March (knee), Adam Webster (knee) and Stefanos Tzimas (knee) remain out for the Seagulls, though, and Hurzeler also revealed that the squad had been dealing with a bout of sickness during the week, without naming names.

As for Bournemouth, Enes Unal and David Brooks were both casualties of the cup loss at Newcastle; the former will miss a couple of weeks with a groin issue, and the latter is a major doubt with an ankle concern.

The Cherries will also be missing Will Dennis (ankle), Tyler Adams (knee), Justin Kluivert (knee) and Ben Gannon-Doak (thigh) on Monday night, but Iraola is hopeful that Ryan Christie will recover from a knee concern in time for the trip.

In what will be their first Premier League game since the departure of Antoine Semenyo, Bournemouth could field Alex Jimenez in an auxiliary attacking role if Brooks does not make the cut.

Brighton & Hove Albion possible starting lineup:

Verbruggen; Veltman, Dunk, Van Hecke, De Cuyper; Ayari, Gross; Gruda, Gomez, Mitoma; Rutter

Bournemouth possible starting lineup:

Petrovic; Smith, Hill, Senesi, Truffert; Scott, Cook; Jimenez, Kroupi, Tavernier; Evanilson

We say: Brighton & Hove Albion 3-2 Bournemouth

Brighton have avoided defeat in seven Premier League games this season when conceding the first goal, while Bournemouth have opened the scoring on six occasions in the 2025-26 top flight but have failed to win all of those games.

Therefore, even if the Cherries can draw first blood, their long-running defensive deficiencies on the road could prove costly in a goal-laden classic.

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