Brighton vs Sunderland Prediction: The Underdogs Rise Up

Latest Brighton vs Sunderland team news

Three Brighton players, Stefanos Tzimas (torn anterior cruciate ligament), Solly March, and Adam Webster (both knee injuries), remain out for an extended period. Captain Lewis Dunk and Diego Gomez are both suspended, while midfielder Carlos Baleba is participating in the Africa Cup of Nations with Cameroon.

Olivier Boscagli is likely to replace Dunk to partner Jan Paul van Hecke in central defense. Gomez's absence could open up an opportunity for Kaoru Mitoma to make his first Premier League appearance since the end of September on the left flank. Maxim De Cuyper could also be used on that wing, unless he drops to left-back in place of Ferdi Kadioglu.

Yasin Ayari or James Milner will replace Baleba to partner Jack Hinshelwood in central midfield. Striker Danny Welbeck – who scored six goals in 26 Premier League games for Sunderland in the 2010-11 season – hopes to return to the starting lineup after Brighton only had one shot on target in 14 attempts against Liverpool.

For Sunderland, Noah Sadiki, Chemsdine Talbi, Reinildo Mandava, Bertrand Traore, and Arthur Masuaku are all absent due to their participation in the Africa Cup of Nations. Luke O'Nien (suspended) and Aji Alese (playing) are also unavailable.

However, Le Bris reports that Habib Diarra could be included in the squad before heading to the CAN, as he is recovering well from a groin injury. His chances of starting are low, so Chris Rigg could replace him alongside Granit Xhaka and Enzo Le Fee.

Simon Adingra – a £21 million signing from Brighton – is working hard to secure a starting spot, but Le Bris may opt for an additional striker alongside Brian Brobbey, with Wilson Isidor and Eliezer Mayenda both competing for playing time.

Latest predicted lineups for Brighton vs Sunderland

Brighton & Hove Albion:

Verbruggen; Wieffer, Van Hecke, Boscagli, Kadioglu; Hinshelwood, Ayari; Minteh, Rutter, De Cuyper; Welbeck

Sunderland:

Roefs; Mukiele, Geertruida, Ballard, Alderete, Hume; Rigg, Xhaka, Le Fee; Isidor, Brobbey

Latest football match prediction: Brighton vs Sunderland

After securing 10 points in a four-match unbeaten run in November (3 wins, 1 draw), Brighton failed to win in their first three matches of December, with a 1-1 draw against West Ham sandwiched between defeats against Aston Villa (4-3) and Liverpool (2-0).

The Seagulls suffered a defeat at Anfield last weekend and have now gone nine consecutive Premier League games without a win in the final month of the year (5 draws, 4 losses) since their 4-2 victory over Tottenham in 2023. In fact, they only have a lower win rate in April (19.4%) compared to December (20.8%) in the Premier League.

Manager Fabian Hurzeler believes his team “deserved more” against Liverpool, but the defeat leaves Brighton in 10th place, although they are only three points behind fifth-placed Crystal Palace.

Brighton will welcome this weekend's match to their home ground, the Amex Stadium, where they have won 15 of their 23 points this season (4 wins, 3 draws, 1 loss). Since the start of last season, Brighton have lost only four of their 27 home Premier League games (12 wins, 11 draws). Only Arsenal, Aston Villa (both with 2 losses) and Liverpool (3 losses) have had fewer home defeats during this period.

The Seagulls are now preparing for their first domestic league encounter with Sunderland since February 2005, when they won 2-1 at home in the Championship. Including that win, 11 of Brighton's 13 victories against Sunderland have come at home.

Like Brighton, Sunderland also failed to secure full points in their first two matches of December (a 1-1 draw against Liverpool and a 3-0 defeat to Man City), but they achieved what is considered their biggest win of the season when they overcame rivals Newcastle United last weekend.

A bizarre own goal by Nick Woltemade early in the second half was enough for Sunderland to win 1-0 at the Stadium of Light. This was their seventh Premier League victory of the season, lifting them to eighth place, three points ahead of Brighton and just two points behind the top four.

Sunderland's 26 points from 16 games is the best performance by a newly promoted team since Hull City in the 2008-09 season (also 26 points). This is also the first time since the 2016-17 season that a newly promoted team has earned the same or more points than the reigning champions (Liverpool also have 26 points this season) at this point in the season; at that time, Burnley had 31 points from 28 games compared to Leicester City's 30 points.

Manager Regis Le Bris insisted his players “are ready to go because they know the next opponent is very strong.” Indeed, Brighton has always been a difficult opponent for Sunderland: they have only won one of six domestic league encounters (one draw, four losses, between 1980 and 1983), with a 3-0 victory at Roker Park in May 1982.

Defensive solidity could be key to Sunderland's pursuit of three points. Le Bris's side have kept five clean sheets this season, just short of their all-time Premier League record (six in the 2016-17 season).

Latest Brighton vs Sunderland score prediction

Based on the above football analysis, we and leading football websites worldwide have provided our predictions for the match.Brighton vs Sunderlandas follows:

• Sportsmole:Brighton 1-1 Sunderland

• WhoScore:Brighton 2-1 Sunderland
• We predict:Brighton 1-1 Sunderland

When and where can I watch Brighton vs Sunderland live?

To watch the Brighton vs Sunderland match live in the English Premier League at 10:00 PM on December 20th, viewers can tune in to the following channels:K+ Sport,K+PMor online sports channels. We hope you enjoy watching football.