Brighton vs Watford: Premier League preview, team news, TV channel, stats, prediction, kick-off time

Aaron Connolly is back in contention for Brighton; Joshua King could make his Watford debut; watch Brighton vs Watford live on Sky Sports Premier League from 5pm on Saturday Night Football; kick-off 5.30pm

Friday 20 August 2021 10:55, UK

Team news, stats and prediction ahead of Brighton vs Watford in the Premier League on Saturday; kick-off 5.30pm.

Team news

Aaron Connolly will be back in contention for Brighton’s Premier League clash with Watford on Saturday.

The Republic of Ireland striker missed last weekend’s 2-1 win at Burnley due to “personal reasons”, but boss Graham Potter has revealed those concerns have been resolved.

Forward Danny Welbeck and full-back Tariq Lamptey remain sidelined with hamstring problems. Defender Joel Veltman will miss out due to self-isolation.

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Josh King could be in line for his Watford debut after recovering from the minor groin injury which ruled him out of last weekend’s 3-2 win over Aston Villa.

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Defender Kiko Femenia is also available after building up his fitness, but midfielder Juraj Kucka is expected to miss out with a thigh injury.

New signing Ozan Tufan is not ready. Striker Joao Pedro (knee) and Nathaniel Chalobah (illness) will again be unavailable, while fellow midfielder Will Hughes is training away from the first team as negotiations over his future continue.

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Brighton and Hove Albion
Watford


Brighton vs Watford is live on Sky Sports Premier League from 5pm; kick-off 5.30pm. Sky Sports customers can watch in-game clips in the live match blog on the Sky Sports website and app. Highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel shortly after the final whistle.

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    • Brighton have never lost a home match against Watford in the top flight (W1 D3), with just five goals scored in total in these four matches (three Brighton, two Watford).
    • The home side has won just three of the last 13 league meetings between Brighton and Watford (D6 L4), including none of the last three such matches between the sides since a 2-0 Watford win at Vicarage Road in August 2018.
    • Brighton ended last season with a run of five consecutive unbeaten home Premier League games, only once enjoying a run of six without defeat at the AMEX in the division, doing so between September and November 2017 under Chris Hughton.
    • Watford lost their last six away Premier League matches in the 2019-20 season, with only Norwich (6) earning fewer away points in the division that season than the Hornets (10). They last lost seven in a row in the top-flight in their final seven away games in 2016-17 under Walter Mazzarri.
    • Watford have scored an own goal in each of their last two Premier League games against Brighton, with Abdoulaye Doucoure in August 2019 and Adrian Mariappa doing so in February 2020. Only two teams have seen players score an own goal in three games in a row against an opponent: Aston Villa vs Charlton Athletic (1999-2001) and Arsenal vs Chelsea (2008-2009).
    • Only Manchester City (20) have won more league games in England’s top four tiers so far in 2021 than Watford (18).
    • Brighton are looking to win both of their opening two games to a top-flight season for the first time, in what is their ninth different top-flight campaign. The Seagulls last won their first two in any division in the 2015-16 Championship.

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    Essential Football Podcast: Will Lukaku get off to a flyer for Chelsea at Arsenal? Plus: Pogba’s best role for Man Utd and the lowdown on Watford’s new stars

    After a blockbuster opening weekend of the Premier League we’re gearing up to go again, with Arsenal vs Chelsea a headline fixture and set to feature the Blues’ new striker Romelu Lukaku. Peter Smith is joined by Gerard Brand, Adam Smith, Nick Wright, and Ron Walker to look ahead to another big round of games…

    PART 1: Will Romelu Lukaku fire Chelsea to a Premier League title challenge? And are Arsenal really in crisis? We assess both sides who go into a London derby in contrasting moods.

    PART 2: Paul Pogba starred in Man Utd’s win over Leeds with four assists – so how does Ole Gunnar Solskjaer keep getting performances like that out of him? And with Raphael Varane primed for his debut, do Man Utd now have all the pieces in place to become champions?

    PART 3: Watford returned to the Premier League in style with a 3-2 win over Aston Villa on the opening weekend. We tell the story behind some of their new signings and examine their prospects this term. Plus, we hear how a drive down the M6 was transformative for Brighton defender Shane Duffy…

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