Brighton & Hove Albion return from their winter hibernation on Monday, when they host in-form Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Amex.
Wolves will seek a fourth straight Premier League win from their first top-flight fixture of the year, while Brighton are back in action following a fortnight's break.
Match preview
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After recuperating during a warm weather training camp in Dubai last week, Brighton will now aim to pick up where they left off, having gone four games unbeaten either side of the New Year.
While the Seagulls may have managed just three wins from their last 14 matches, an away draw with arch-rivals Crystal Palace preceded victory over Tottenham Hotspur in their most recent home fixture; a 0-0 stalemate with West Ham then followed in their opening game of 2024.
Having finally kept their first Premier League clean sheet of the season, Roberto De Zerbi's men went on to beat Stoke City 4-2 in the Potteries, securing a place in the FA Cup fourth round, where they will meet Sheffield United.
A Joao Pedro brace saw Brighton past Championship opposition in the cup, and they now return from their two-week hiatus with a game against opponents they have recently dominated: the south coast side have taken maximum points from each of their last four league games against Wolves - as many times as in the previous 19 - including 4-1 and 6-0 victories in the clubs' meetings last year.
Furthermore, De Zerbi has won all of his previous encounters with Monday's visitors by an aggregate scoreline of 13-3; in stark contrast, Wolves boss Gary O'Neil has lost all three of his Premier League matches versus Brighton.
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During that quartet of defeats, Wolves have conceded at least three goals each time - and 16 in total - so they could be forgiven for feeling a certain amount of trepidation as they head down south from the West Midlands.
However, the Old Gold have tightened things up at the back over recent months and will arrive at the Amex having won each of their last three Premier League games.
Wolves last won four successive top-flight matches back in 1972, so achieving such a feat would be an impressive statement of intent from O'Neil, who has defied expectations to keep his team well clear of relegation trouble.
In fact, victory would also bring them level on 31 points with Brighton, while extending their unbeaten run in all competitions to six games.
Last time out, Wanderers booked their place in the fourth round of the FA Cup via a tense extra-time replay win over Brentford, thereby teeing up a much-anticipated Black Country derby with West Bromwich Albion.
Before facing a hostile reception at the Hawthorns, though, they must visit a Brighton side that averages over two goals per game on home turf. Having kept only one clean sheet in 26 Premier League away matches, that represents quite a test of Wolves' credentials.
Team News
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Although Tariq Lamptey has returned early from a thigh injury, Brighton still have a host of absentees to contend with: Igor (Achilles), Joel Veltman (knee), Julio Enciso (knee) and Ansu Fati (thigh) are all sidelined.
Roberto De Zerbi must also do without Simon Adingra and Kaoru Mitoma, who are on international duty at the Africa Nations Cup and Asian Cup respectively, while Solly March is out for the foreseeable future.
Likely to join Joao Pedro up front for the Seagulls, Danny Welbeck has six goal involvements in eight previous Premier League starts against Wolves and bagged a brace in the equivalent fixture last season.
Meanwhile, Wolves will turn to Matheus Cunha for inspiration in the final third, as the former Atletico Madrid man has been directly involved in eight goals in his last nine league appearances, having registered just five goal contributions during his first 28.
Portuguese winger Pedro Neto could be in line for his first start since being struck down by injury in October, while midfield regular Mario Lemina is also back in contention.
However, Joao Gomes is suspended, while Rayan Ait-Nouri and Boubacar Traore join Hwang Hee-chan on international duty. The latter leaves a significant void, having been directly involved in 43% of Wanderers' 30 Premier League goals this term - only Mohamed Salah (51%) and Dominic Solanke (46%) boast better rates.
Brighton & Hove Albion possible starting lineup:
Steele; Hinshelwood, Van Hecke, Dunk, Estupinan; Gross, Gilmour, Milner; Buonanotte; Welbeck, Pedro
Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Sa; Kilman, Dawson, Gomes; Semedo, Lemina, Doyle, Doherty; Sarabia, Neto; Cunha
We say: Brighton & Hove Albion 2-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Brighton have often blown Wolves away over recent seasons, but it should be a much closer encounter on this occasion. The visitors have shown some more steel of late, but their hosts' greater versatility up front could prove the difference.
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Top tip
Jonathan O'Shea
