The first of two Premier League games on Friday evening takes place at the Amex as Brighton take on Brentford on the south coast.

After an excellent start to the season, Fabian Hurzeler’s Seagulls have fallen into midfield in the table after a pretty miserable run of form. Brighton are winless in five games and have not won on home soil since coming from behind to beat the champions 2-1 on November 9.

Still, the high density of chaotic divisions means the Seagulls are just a few wins away from the table, which makes for a much nicer read.

Brentford have struggled on the road this season but Thomas Frank’s side have still exceeded expectations following the departure of Ivan Toney. They suffered their first home defeat of the season at the weekend and slipped to 12th in the table, but in pre-season many feared that the west Londoners were flirting with relegation talk.

However, the Bees need to start getting results on the road.

Here is 90 minutes Preview of the Premier League duel on Friday.

Brighton vs Brentford H2H results (last five games)

Current form (all competitions)

Hurzeler hopes to have Mats Wieffer available for Brentford’s visit after the Dutchman was substituted following his first Brighton goal on Saturday. The Dutchman, when fit, will partner the excellent Carlos Baleba in the middle of the park.

Yankuba Minteh should fill in for Brajan Gruda on the right, and there could be recalls for Adam Webster and Solly March. However, Danny Welbeck is out again with an ankle injury.

The Seagulls will also be without Jack Hinshelwood, James Milner and Ferdi Kadioglu for the foreseeable future.

Predicted line-up for Brighton vs Brentford (4-2-3-1): Conceal; Veltman, Van Hecke, Dunk, Estupinan; Baleba, Wieffer; Minteh, Pedro, Mitoma; Ferguson.

Brentford’s injury list is extensive and their problems only worsened over the weekend after Mads Roerslev was forced off in the second half with a head injury. He probably won’t play a role on Friday.

The Bees hope to have summer signing Igor Thiago available soon after a lengthy absence, but the striker is currently battling illness and may not feature until the new year. Ethan Pinnock, Josh Dasilva, Mathias Jensen, Rico Henry and Sepp van den Berg are also expected to return next month.

Aaron Hickey is out longer with a hamstring injury.

Predicted line-up for Brentford vs Brighton (4-3-3): spots; Ajer, Collins, Mee, Lewis Potter; Norgaard, Janelt, Damsgaard; Mbeumo, Wissa, Carvalho.

Saturday’s defeat felt like a bad blow for Brentford after Frank rested key players for the Carabao Cup quarter-final defeat at Newcastle. What was it all for?

Friday’s visitors are in a difficult period and despite Brighton being one of the worst-performing Premier League teams in December, it feels like they are getting closer and closer to victory. They were very unlucky not to get all three points at West Ham on Saturday.

While Brentford were once the team capable of thwarting Brighton’s deft possession play and causing havoc on the counter-attack, their poor defensive performance this season suggests the hosts will have plenty to enjoy on Friday.

It should be a good game for Hurzeler’s men, as the visitors’ losing streak extends to four games in all competitions.

Prediction: Brighton 3-1 Brentford

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