Championship promotion hopefuls West Bromwich Albion welcome high-flying Premier League outfit Brighton & Hove Albion to The Hawthorns for their third-round tie in the FA Cup on Saturday.
The Baggies are unbeaten in each of their last 10 home matches, while the Seagulls have lost only two of their 12 away games across all competitions so far this campaign.
Match preview
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West Bromwich Albion missed the chance to move to within two points of the automatic promotion places in the Championship as their fiery encounter at home against Cardiff City ended as a 1-1 draw.
Three red cards were shown at The Hawthorns with Baggies duo Alex Mowatt and Sam Johnstone given their marching orders, the latter dismissed shortly after full time after a fracas with Cardiff's Aden Flint, who was also sent off.
Callum Robinson's 48th-minute strike was enough to cancel out James Collins's first-half opener and secure at least a point for Valerien Ismael's men, who have now failed to win any of their last three league matches.
West Brom also head into Saturday's FA Cup tie with Brighton after losing four of their last five home matches in the competition, including all three against Premier League opposition during this spell.
In their most recent encounter against the Seagulls, the Baggies claimed a 1-0 victory in the Premier League last season thanks to a Kyle Bartley header, and they will be aiming to secure another win on home soil as they look to advance to the fourth round of the FA Cup for the fourth time in the last five years.
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Brighton & Hove Albion followed up their impressive point claimed against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge with another notable result on the road, this time winning 3-2 against Everton at Goodison Park last weekend.
Despite Anthony Gordon bagging a brace for the hosts, it was Alexis Mac Allister who starred for the visitors with two goals of his own, either side of Dan Burn's first-half header.
Graham Potter's men are now sitting ninth in the Premier League table, eight places higher than at this stage last season, and they are crucially 16 points above the relegation zone.
With no fears of the drop on their minds at present, Brighton may now target a cup run, with a favourable fixture against lower league opposition to come this weekend in the form of West Brom.
The Seagulls have been eliminated in the third round of the FA Cup in just two of the last 12 seasons, losing against Hull City in 2015-16 and Sheffield Wednesday in 2019-20, and Potter will be keen for his side's positive momentum to continue with a victory in the West Midlands on Saturday.
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Team News
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West Brom duo Mowatt and Johnstone are both suspended, with the latter to be replaced between the sticks by former Brighton stopper David Button or Alex Palmer.
The hosts will also be without Robert Snodgrass, Matt Phillips, Dara O'Shea and Kean Bryan, who are all suffering with injuries, while Semi Ajayi is away on international duty with Nigeria for the Africa Cup of Nations.
Robinson – who has scored five goals in his five starts in the FA Cup, four of which against non-league opposition – is expected to start in attack alongside Karlan Grant and Grady Diangana, while Darnell Furlong and Adam Reach could operate in wing-back roles ahead of Taylor Gardner-Hickman and Conor Townsend.
As for Brighton, Lewis Dunk and Jeremy Sarmiento remain long-term injury absentees, while Yves Bissouma is away on AFCON duty with Mali.
After four years at the Amex Stadium, Jurgen Locadia left the Seagulls on a permanent deal on Thursday, joining Bundesliga outfit VfL Bochum.
Potter may decide to provide first-team opportunities for the likes of goalkeeper Jason Steele, Jakub Moder, Steven Alzate and Danny Welbeck, with Robert Sanchez, Enock Mwepu, Adam Lallana and Neal Maupay potentially dropping out as a result.
West Bromwich Albion possible starting lineup:
Button; Kipre, Bartley, Clarke; Furlong, Livermore, Molumby, Reach; Grant, Diangana; Robinson
Brighton & Hove Albion possible starting lineup:
Steele; Veltman, Webster, Duffy; Lamptey, Alzate, Moder, Cucurella; Gross; Mac Allister, Welbeck
We say: West Bromwich Albion 1-2 Brighton & Hove Albion
Over the last few weeks, while West Brom have suffered a slight dip in league form, Brighton have enjoyed plenty of success in the top flight.
Even though Potter is expected to make a few changes to his starting lineup, the visitors should have enough quality in their side to come away from The Hawthorns with a victory.
Top tip
Oliver Thomas
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a West Bromwich Albion win with a probability of 44.18%. A win for Brighton & Hove Albion had a probability of 30.14% and a draw had a probability of 25.7%.
The most likely scoreline for a West Bromwich Albion win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.35%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.05%) and 2-0 (7.68%). The likeliest Brighton & Hove Albion win was 0-1 (8.23%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.2%).
