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

Eleventh faces 12th in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon as Fulham welcome Brighton & Hove Albion to Craven Cottage.

The Cottagers and the Seagulls butt heads for the first time since the opening weekend of the season in August when they played out a 1-1 draw at the Amex Stadium.

Match preview

Fulham’s six-game unbeaten run in the Premier League - picking up points against Liverpool (1-1) and Chelsea (2-1) - was ended last weekend, as they suffered a slender 1-0 defeat away against Leeds United, four months after winning the reverse fixture by the same scoreline.

Lukas Nmecha’s 91st-minute winner condemned the Cottagers to their ninth league loss of the campaign and they have subsequently slipped down to 11th in the table, albeit just four points behind fifth-placed Man United who they will face at Old Trafford on February 1.

Marco Silva’s side finished the defeat to Leeds with just a single shot on target in 90 minutes and generated an xG of 0.39, while they also had just seven touches in Leeds’ penalty box, their fewest in a Premier League match since December 2024 when they had only three at home against Arsenal.

Keen to swiftly move on from their Elland Road setback, Fulham will welcome a return to Craven Cottage this weekend, as they have accumulated 64.5% of their Premier League points on home soil this season (20/31), winning six of those games out of 11 and scoring 19 goals in the process.

The Cottagers head into their contest against Brighton with an unbeaten record in all five of their Premier League home encounters with the Seagulls (W4 D1) - including a 3-1 success last season - having previously lost three in a row against them in the Championship.

Brighton have only won one of their last nine Premier League games (D5 L3), but since losing 2-1 away against leaders Arsenal on December 27, the Seagulls have put together a five-game unbeaten run in all competitions, drawing three of their last four top-flight matches with West Ham, Man City and Bournemouth.

Fabian Hurzeler’s men were on course to suffer their first defeat of 2026 at home to the Cherries on Monday before 18-year-old Charalampos Kostoulas scored a superb bicycle kick in second-half stoppage time to salvage a 1-1 draw for the 12th-placed Seagulls, who sit only five points behind the top five with 16 games still to play.

Brighton are building a reputation as comeback specialists, as they have avoided defeat in a division-high eight Premier League matches when conceding the first goal so far this season (W3 D5), coming from behind to draw their last two against Bournemouth and Man City (both 1-1).

However, the Seagulls have struggled to grind out positive results in the capital, as they have won only two of their last 18 Premier League away matches against London clubs (D7 L9), with those two wins coming against Tottenham in May last season and Chelsea in September.

Against Saturday’s opponents Fulham, Brighton have won just one of their 11 top-flight meetings (D5 L5), their lowest win rate against any team they have faced more than twice (9%).

Fulham Premier League form:

Fulham form (all competitions):

Brighton & Hove Albion Premier League form:

Brighton & Hove Albion form (all competitions):

Team News

Fuham’s Sasa Lukic was forced off with a muscle injury in the defeat to Leeds and has joined Rodrigo Muniz (thigh) in the treatment room, while Kenny Tete (thigh) and Emile Smith Rowe (knock) will both be assessed ahead of kickoff.

However, Marco Silva will be boosted by the return of Nigerian trio Alex Iwobi, Calvin Bassey and Samuel Chukwueze following their spells away at the Africa Cup of Nations, and all three players could be in contention to start this weekend.

In-form attacker Harry Wilson could either operate in a central role or battle for a start out wide with Chukwueze, Kevin, Ryan Sessegnon and Adama Traore, while Raul Jimenez is expected to continue up front - all five of the Mexican’s PL goals have put Fulham one goal ahead in a game this season, the highest such 100% record of any player.

As for Brighton, Mats Wieffer (toe), Solly March, Adam Webster and Stefanos Tzimas (all knee) all remain sidelined with injuries, while Maxim De Cuyper missed the draw with Bournemouth due to illness and will be assessed ahead of kickoff this weekend.

Hurzeler will consider recalling midfield duo Carlos Baleba and Yasin Ayari, but Jak Hinshelwood and Pasal Gross may be preferred in the first XI, wile 40-year-old James Milner is another midfield option available for selection.

The Seagulls boss may also consider freshening up his attack by handing Georginio Rutter and Yankuba Minteh starts in the final third at the expense of Diego Gomez and Brajan Gruda, while Danny Welbeck is the most likely Brighton player to lead the line.

Fulham possible starting lineup:

Leno; Castagne, Andersen, Bassey, Robinson; Berge, Iwobi; Chukwueze, Wilson, Kevin; Jimenez

Brighton & Hove Albion possible starting lineup:

Verbruggen; Veltman, Dunk, Van Hecke, Kadioglu; Ayari, Gross; Minteh, Rutter, Mitoma; Welbeck

We say: Fulham 1-1 Brighton & Hove Albion

Five of the last 11 meetings between Fulham and Brighton have ended all square and another closely-contested battle could be on the cards between two evenly-matched teams this weekend.

The Cottagers will be considered as slight favourites considering their strong home record and Brighton’s struggles in London, but we are backing the Seagulls to claim at least a share of the spoils on this occasion.

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