Crystal Palace v Brighton predictions: In-form visitors can edge lively clash

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Crystal Palace v Brighton in the Premier League on Monday.

Where to watch

Sky Sports Premier League & Main Event, 8pm Monday

Best bet

Brighton to win & over 2.5 goals
1pt 7-2 bet365, Hills

Team news

Crystal Palace
Eberechi Eze and Nathan Ferguson remain sidelined but Jeffrey Schlupp is back and Odsonne Edouard and Michael Olise are pushing for starts.

Brighton
Adam Webster is out and Yves Bissouma and Alexis Mac Allister are doubts. Pascal Gross, Jurgen Locadia and Tariq Lamptey returned to action in the EFL Cup win over Swansea.

Match preview

Brighton struggled to convert last season's impressive performances into points but it has been a different story in 2021-22 and the Seagulls can go top of the Premier League with a win at Crystal Palace.

February's meeting with Palace epitomised last season's frustrations for Brighton, who had 75 per cent of possession and 25 attempts on goal to their opponents' three yet still ended up losing 2-1.

After finishing 16th in 2020-21, the Seagulls have won four of their first five games in the new season and manager Graham Potter was happy to admit that his side had enjoyed "a bit of luck" in their last league game, a 2-1 home victory over Leicester.

Potter's men followed up their win over the Foxes, who were twice denied an equaliser due to VAR offside calls, with a 2-0 victory over Swansea in the EFL Cup, extending their superb start to the season to six wins in seven games in all competitions.

They have scored at least twice in five of those wins and should be confident of adding to that tally against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, where the four Premier League meetings between these rivals have produced a 3-2 win for Palace, a 2-1 Brighton victory and two 1-1 draws.

Patrick Vieira has picked up five points from his first five league games as Palace boss, which is a satisfactory start given the tough run of fixtures he has faced.

Between 3-0 defeats to Chelsea and Liverpool, Palace drew with Brentford (0-0) and West Ham (2-2) and beat ten-man Tottenham 3-0 thanks to two late goals from new striker Odsonne Edouard.

The Frenchman's arrival from Celtic should enhance the attacking threat of a Palace side who scored only 41 goals in 38 league games last season and they caused problems for Liverpool at Anfield, hitting the woodwork early on before conceding three goals from set-piece situations.

That weakness will concern Vieira as Brighton pose a major aerial threat through Shane Duffy, who scored the opener in last month's 2-0 win over Watford, and fellow centre-back Lewis Dunk.

Christian Benteke, Jordan Ayew and star man Wilfried Zaha could continue as the front three for Palace with Chelsea loanee Conor Gallagher, who scored twice against West Ham, getting forward to good effect from midfield.

Palace should fancy their chances of landing a blow on a Brighton defence who are not entirely convincing but they may struggle to keep Potter's side quiet at the other end.

Striker Neal Maupay was often the scapegoat for the discrepancy between Brighton's impressive xG performances and underwhelming points tally last season but he should be confident after three goals in five starts this term.

Leandro Trossard, Danny Welbeck and Alexis Mac Allister have also been lively going forward this season and the odds about Brighton winning a game featuring over 2.5 goals are appealing.

Key stat

Both teams have scored in seven of the last eight meetings between these clubs.

Inside info

Crystal Palace

Penalty taker Wilfried Zaha
Free-kick wizard Conor Gallagher
Set-piece aerial threat Cheikhou Kouyate
Card magnet Luka Milivojevic

Brighton

Penalty taker Neal Maupay
Free-kick wizardLeandro Trossard
Set-piece aerial threatLewis Dunk
Card magnetYves Bissouma

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