Brighton and Hove Albion and Southampton have had very different starts to their 2019/20 Premier League campaigns, with the pair now poised to clash at the Amex Stadium.
The Seagulls have enjoyed the better beginning, picking apart a still winless Watford side at Vicarage Road and most recently securing a decent 1-1 draw with big summer spenders West Ham.
Southampton were on the receiving end of the same result on their first matchday, losing 3-0 to an ever improving Burnley side, before falling to a narrow 2-1 defeat against Liverpool at St Mary's.
Here's 90min's preview of the upcoming fixture between the two south coast clubs.
Where to Watch
| When is Kick Off? | Saturday 24 August |
| What Time is Kick off? | 15:00 (BST) |
| Where is it Played? | Amex Stadium |
| TV Channel/Live stream? | Gillette Soccer Special |
| Referee? | Kevin Friend |
Where to Buy Tickets
Team News
It'll likely be much of the same for Brighton, who have made an impressive start to the season. Leandro Trossard will be optimistic of maintaining his place in the starting lineup after scoring on his debut against West Ham while Jose Izquierdo, Ezequiel Schelotto and Yves Bissouma all continue their recoveries from injury.
Unsurprisingly, the Saints opted for a more defensive approach after the loss to Burnley when they faced a dangerous Liverpool side, with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg replacing Danny Ings in the starting lineup. However, his goal from the bench against his old club may see him return to the side for the next match.
Predicted Lineups
| Brighton | Ryan; Duffy, Dunk, Burn, March, Montoya, Stephens, Propper, Groß, Trossard, Murray |
| Southampton | Gunn; Bednarek, Yoshida, Vestergaard, Bertrand, Valery, Ward-Prowse, Romeu, Redmond, Ings, Adams |
Head to Head Record
Although they're arguably underdogs in this upcoming trip to face Graham Potter's rejuvenated side, Southampton have had the better of this fixture historically, winning 34, drawing 17 and losing 20 in total.
And considering the Saints are now a well established Premier League side after they achieved promotion back in 2012, it's hardly surprising that they've had the better of this tie in recent times too.
In fact, they haven't lost to Brighton since the two sides met in the Championship seven years ago, drawing three and winning two of their fixtures since then.
Recent Form
We already know the Seagulls have made by far the better start, remaining unbeaten after two games and currently flying high in fifth position, while Southampton have no points from a possible six this season.
But we only have these two matchdays and a number of pre-season fixtures to go on, in which Southampton performed well, meaning results could still be very unpredictable.
As impressive as Brighton's opening 3-0 victory was against Watford, Ralph Hasenhuttl's side have arguably had the more difficult beginning.
The Clarets are always difficult to beat, particularly at home, while they also don't come much tougher than a second day encounter against Champions League holders and Premier League runners-up Liverpool.
Here's both teams last five results in all competitions.
| Brighton | Southampton |
| Brighton 1-1 West Ham (17/08) | Southampton 1-2 Liverpool (17/08) |
| Watford 0-3 Brighton (10/08) | Burnley 3-0 Southampton (10/08) |
| Brighton 2-1 Valencia (02/08) | Southampton 2-0 Koln (03/08) |
| Birmingham 0-4 Brighton (27/07) | Feyenoord 1-3 Southampton (28/07) |
| Fulham 2-1 Brighton (20/07) | Guangzhou 0-4 Southampton (23/07) |
Prediction
Given the completely polar opposite starts these two clubs have made, it's difficult to look past a Brighton win, making the Seagulls pretty obvious favourites going into the game.
They've looked free-flowing in attack and more than secure at the back, only conceding a single goal in their first two matches.
But, as much as it is still very early on, Southampton need to start picking up points and this, on paper, will be a fixture from which they believe they can earn a draw or even a victory potentially giving them that extra motivation to steal a result.
This one is in no way set in stone but you'd expect Brighton to run out as winners nonetheless.
Prediction: Brighton 3-1 Southampton
Source : 90min