The upcoming 22nd round of the Premier League will conclude with a meeting between mid-table sides Brighton & Hove Albion and Bournemouth, who are separated by three points, with the visitors trying to close the gap. The teams have followed a similar pace over the season, but the hosts have not experienced as deep a slump as their opponents.
Brighton & Hove Albion
Throughout the league season Brighton & Hove Albion have not lost two matches in a row. They did endure a six-match winless run in December, but for Bournemouth, the sequence lasted from early November to early January and stretched to 11 rounds. Without the cushion of points they built up at the start of the season, they would clearly have dropped into the relegation zone, and their current 15th place can hardly be called safe either.
The side have started 2026 very well with two wins and a draw. They reached the fourth round of The Emirates FA Cup by beating Manchester United 2:1 at Old Trafford, drew 1:1 away at the Etihad Stadium against Manchester City, and before that deservedly defeated modest Burnley 2:0 at home (1.45-0.30 in xG).
Bournemouth
Perhaps Bournemouth were distracted all this time by rumours about the sale of their most valuable asset, Antoine Semenyo. He has now joined Manchester City for 72 million euros. In his last match he said goodbye with the winning goal against Tottenham Hotspur (3:2) on 7 January. How will Andoni Iraola cope without him now, given that the forward had scored 30% of the team’s goals?
Brighton & Hove Albion vs Bournemouth Prediction
The victory they let slip in added time in the third round of The Emirates FA Cup against Newcastle United (3:4 on penalties) showed that Bournemouth have still not fully recovered from their crisis. In addition, over the previous three seasons, Brighton & Hove Albion have always taken all three points at the American Express Stadium in their home matches against the Cherries. We expect the home side to win.
