This Thursday night the Seagulls will hope to get back to the Premier League and get into the top four to play at Craven Cottage against Fulham.
The Cottagers will be facing the Seagulls for the first time after the start of March when the latter suffered a 3-0 loss to the former on their home ground.
After being hammered 4-1 at home by Wolverhampton Wanderers, Fulham came from a goal down to earn a 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur in North London coming into the weekend but the game was not without controversy for Fulham captain Tom Cairney.
The midfielder equalised for Simon-Thomas Brennan Johnson’s first half against all hope of Rovers, before being dismissed for a two-footed challenge with seven minutes of normal time remaining. Yet the Spurs could not breach the stubborn and resolute Cottagers ‘ backline with ten men to deny themselves a victory share.
After the match, the Fulham manager Marco Silva was fumed as he reacted that his team should have won the match against Spurs. But a draw has placed Manchester occupying the CEO position in the Premier League table, only four points above the relegation danger zone and right above Tottenham Hotspur in 12th place, only one point below the Spurs and four points away from the host team Brighton and Hove Albion occupying the 5th place.
Prior to the Seagulls joining the top tier this past summer, the Cottagers had a positive head-to-head record against them in the top flight, winning four of their last eight meetings and claiming four stalemates to boot, overall winning their last two encounters at the Craven Cottage with a score of 5-1; Aston Villa aside, no other side has faced Fulham more often than it in the division without suffering a defeat.
But in midweek fixtures, they have struggled to record victories as they have only emerged winners of their last league game on any day of midweek, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday (D1 L4) after previously emerging victory bearers in four out of their five league games since promotion to the English top flight in 2022.
Brighton was widely favored to win a third straight Premier League game at home against Southampton last Friday after earning all three points in consecutive 2-1 wins over Manchester City and Bournemouth.
After the game, Fabian Hurzeler acknowledged that his Brighton team "only deserved a draw"—their fourth at the Amex this season—because they lacked a clinical edge and intensity in the final third, putting only five of their 22 shots on goal.
But for the first time in their history, Brighton finished the day in the top two of the Premier League. Since then, they have dropped back to fifth place, three points behind Man City in fourth place and five points behind Chelsea and Arsenal in second and third place, respectively.
Before finishing 2024 with games against Leicester City, West Ham United, and Aston Villa, Brighton will visit Craven Cottage, where they have lost all four of their previous visits (D1 L3). They have also lost all nine of their previous away league games in London, with their most recent losing run in the capital dating back to 1961–1967 (10).
