Brighton v Watford: betting preview, odds, stats and free tip

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Brighton v Watford in the Premier League.

Where to watch

BT Sport 1, 5.30pm Saturday

Best bet

Both teams to score
1pt 4-5 Hills

Team news

Brighton
Dan Burn (fractured collarbone) is back in training but short of match fitness. Shane Duffy (leg) is available.

Watford
Nathaniel Chalobah (back) and Ismaila Sarr (hamstring) need to be assessed and Tom Cleverley (heel) could feature but Kiko Femenia and Daryl Janmaat remain unavailable.

Match preview

Poor defending has been a key factor in Brighton and Watford's struggles this season and it may contribute to a high-scoring Premier League game when the clubs lock horns at the Amex.

Brighton have received praise for their commitment to slick, attacking football which differs from the rigid, cautious approach favoured by their former manager, Chris Hughton.

After an encouraging start to the season, their new boss Graham Potter was handed two-year contract extension, prolonging his deal until 2025.

However, positive performances have not always been matched by results and with 13 games left Brighton are just two points above the drop zone.

Brighton's record of 37 goals conceded is the best of the bottom six teams but standards seem to have slipped since regular left-back Dan Burn sustained a fractured collarbone in the 1-1 draw at home to Chelsea on New Year's Day.

The Seagulls are still awaiting their first clean sheet of 2020 and have shipped six goals in their last two matches, losing 3-1 at Bournemouth and drawing 3-3 at West Ham.

Poor defending is putting extra pressure on the forwards and top scorer Neal Maupay seems to be feeling the strain.

Maupay has not found the net since mid-December and was left out at West Ham, making way for veteran striker Glenn Murray, who justified his inclusion with a 79th-minute equaliser.

Brighton were 3-0 winners at home to Watford on the opening day of the season. But the Seagulls' early-season optimism has seeped away and Watford's struggles have eased since the December appointment of Nigel Pearson.

The Hornets have slipped back into the bottom three after losses at Aston Villa and at home to Everton but they are playing well enough to suggest they have a strong chance of survival.

Last weekend's defeat by Everton must have been hard to take. Watford squandered a hard-earned 2-0 lead by conceding two first- half injury-time goals and then they were caught on the counter-attack in the 90th minute as the ten-man Toffees plundered an unlikely victory.

Pearson's players looked devastated but after allowing the dust to settle they should realise they are still in a far better position than they could have imagined just two months ago.

The big difference is their improvement in attack. After scoring just nine goals in the first 17 league games (averaging 0.53), Watford added a further 14 in the next eight at an average of 1.75.

They have been scoring and conceding plenty of goals and the trend may continue at Brighton where both teams to score looks a solid wager.