Brighton vs Wolves LIVE commentary: Injury-hit Seagulls look to continue European push against Gary O’Neil’s men – kick-off time, team news and how to follow

10 months ago 72
ARTICLE AD

LIVE on talkSPORT

Published: 10:49, 19 Jan 2024Updated: 10:49, 19 Jan 2024

Brighton welcome Wolves to the Amex on Monday night as both teams look to push on in the second half of the season, and it's live on talkSPORT.

Both sides enjoyed solid starts to the 2023/24 season, with Europe well in reach for the Seagulls and a top-ten finish there for the Old Gold.

Brighton are starting to welcome many players back

4

Brighton are starting to welcome many players backCredit: AFP

Roberto De Zerbi's men have dealt with an incredible number of injuries this campaign but are still performing.

Meanwhile, Wolves, under Gary O'Neil's guidance, were expected to massively struggle this year but have defied all expectations to put themselves into a comfortable position.

Brighton vs Wolves: Similar seasons

There are only three points separating these two, and both sides have enjoyed similar campaigns.

The Seagulls have scored more goals than the Old Gold, but pretty much every other team statistic is very similar.

Read more on Premier League

Both teams concede most of their goals from inside the box.

Wolves are slightly better defensively, conceding two fewer, making more fouls and producing more blocks than Brighton.

But the statistics show these two sides are evenly matched, meaning we should have a good game.

Wolves and Brighton are enjoying similar seasons

4

Wolves and Brighton are enjoying similar seasons Brighton have won their last four league games against Wolves, as many as they had in their previous 19 combined (D10 L5). Wolves have lost their last four Premier League games against Brighton, conceding at least three goals each time (16 in total). Only twice before have they lost 5+ consecutive league games against an opponent while shipping 3+ goals each time – eight against Manchester City (1902-1909) and five against Blackpool (1927-1929). This is Wolves’ first league game of 2024 – it’s the third latest a team has played their first Premier League game of a calendar year (excl. promoted sides), after Portsmouth in 2010 (26th January) and Manchester United in 2000 (24th January).

Brighton vs Wolves: Team news

Despite having a few players back, the hosts are still without several first-team members.

Joel Veltman, Julio Enciso, Tariq Lamptey, Ansu Fati and Solly March are all out with long-term problems.

Kaoru Mitoma and Simon Adingra are closer to a return than the others but are still on the sidelines.

Igor will hope to have shaken off a knock to be involved.

Meanwhile, Wolves have no injuries, but they will still be without a few players.

Hwang Hee-chan is away with South Korea playing in the AFC Asian Cup, while Rayan Ait-Nouri and Boubacar Traore are at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Jonny Otto is suspended internally, and Joao Gomes sits out the second of his three-match ban for a red card in the FA Cup against Brentford.

De Zerbi has made the most of his decimated squad

4

De Zerbi has made the most of his decimated squadCredit: Getty Brighton drew 0-0 with West Ham in their last Premier League match, keeping their first league clean sheet of the season. They last kept consecutive league shutouts in April/May 2023, one of which was a 6-0 home win over Wolves. Wolves have won each of their last three Premier League games, last winning four successive top-flight matches back in January 1972 under Bill McGarry. Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi has won all three of his Premier League meetings with Wolves by an aggregate scoreline of 13-3. Meanwhile, Wolves manager Gary O'Neil has lost all three of his Premier League encounters with Brighton, with his sides conceding seven goals and scoring one in reply.

Brighton vs Wolves: Date and how to follow

This Premier League clash will take place on Monday, January 22.

Kick-off at the Amex is scheduled for 7:45pm.

talkSPORT will have live and exclusive coverage from the south coast, with Adrian Durham serving as your presenter.

Commentary will then come from Sam Matterface and former Fulham midfielder Danny Murphy.

talkSPORT.com will be on hand for all of the reaction.

To tune in to talkSPORT or talkSPORT 2 through the website, click HERE for the live stream. You can also listen via the talkSPORT app, on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM.

O'Neil has done a great job

4

O'Neil has done a great jobCredit: Getty Brighton forward Danny Welbeck has six goal involvements in eight Premier League starts against Wolves (4 goals, 2 assists), and was one of three players to net a brace in this exact fixture last term as the Seagulls ran out 6-0 winners (also two goals for Pascal Groß and Deniz Undav). All eight of Brighton’s penalty goals in all competitions this season have been scored by João Pedro, with 53% of his goals this term coming from the spot (8/15). The Brazilian has scored more penalty goals than any other Premier League player in all competitions this season. Hwang Hee-Chan has been directly involved in 43.3% of Wolves’ 30 Premier League goals this term (10 goals, 3 assists), with only Mohamed Salah (51.2%) and Dominic Solanke (46.4%) either scoring or assisting a higher share of their side’s goals. Matheus Cunha has been directly involved in eight goals across his last nine Premier League appearances for Wolves (4 goals, 4 assists), having registered just five goal contributions in his first 28 games for the club in the competition (4 goals, 1 assist).
Read Entire Article