Brighton v Arsenal
PREMIER LEAGUE
Venue: The American Express Community Stadium
Date: Wednesday 26th December 2018
Kick-off: 17:15 GMT
Referee: Anthony Taylor
Assistants: Gary Beswick, Adam Nunn
Fourth official: Kevin Friend
TEAM NEWS
Brighton defender Shane Duffy is available after a three-match ban and will replace the suspended Lewis Dunk.
Wingers Alireza Jahanbakhsh and Jose Izquierdo remain sidelined by injuries.
Arsenal midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan has been ruled out for up to six weeks with a broken foot, while Nacho Monreal and Shkodran Mustafi are doubts because of hamstring injuries.
Hector Bellerin, Danny Welbeck, Rob Holding, Konstantinos Mavropanos and Emile Smith Rowe remain out.
MOTD COMMENTATOR'S NOTES
Steve Wilson: Chris Hughton will be irritated that Brighton have lost their last three and picked up another red card - Lewis Dunk's dismissal at Bournemouth was their third sending off in seven games.
The cushion that Brighton enjoy between them and the bottom four might look comforting, but you can bet that Hughton will not see it that way. Consistency has been his watchword and they must not let that slip away.
It's a squad game at this time of year, as Arsenal head coach Unai Emery is discovering with defenders Bellerin, Mustafi, Holding, Koscielny, Kolasinac and Sokratis all being forced to miss games recently.
With a trip to Anfield on Saturday, the Spaniard might be tempted to shuffle his pack again.
WHAT THE MANAGERS SAY
Chris Hughton: "When you're Brighton in the Premier League, only in your second season, every period for us is a tricky period. Every game that we play is a difficult game.
"We're going through a number of games in a short period of time, and we'll have to play at a level to get something from the matches."
Arsenal head coach Unai Emery: "Brighton is the same, a very tough match physically, very organised and, like with Burnley, a very good coach who is working very well.
"It is a challenge and I respect those teams a lot because they also have good players. They decide to do a line-up with physical players with a lot of crosses for the strikers for heading in our box.
"We need to defend very far in our box to defend better against that."
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
[*=left]Brighton ended a five-match losing streak in this fixture with a 2-1 victory in the most recent meeting nearly 10 months ago.
[*=left]The Seagulls have won each of their last three home games against Arsenal in the top flight.
[*=left]Brighton have suffered three successive Premier League defeats. They have not lost four in a row in a top-flight season since 1982-83.
[*=left]Their defeat by Chelsea on 16 December was only their second home loss in 11 Premier League games (W5, D4).
[*=left]However, five of their six home league defeats since promotion have come against the established top six.
[*=left]The Seagulls have kept just three clean sheets in their last 20 league games, conceding 33 goals.
[*=left]Brighton haven't won in nine Boxing Day fixtures since beating QPR 1-0 in 2005 (D3, L6).
[*=left]A fifth win in nine Premier League away games this season would ensure Arsenal surpass their points tally on the road for the whole of 2017-18.
[*=left]They could become the first team to score at least twice in each of their opening nine away games in a top-flight campaign.
[*=left]Arsenal have lost just one of their last 13 league fixtures on Boxing Day (W10, D2).
[*=left]The Gunners have scored an unrivalled 29 second-half goals in 2018-19.
[*=left]Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is the division's leading scorer this season, with 12 goals. He has scored 22 goals in 31 Premier League appearances for Arsenal, five more than any other player for the club after 31 games in the competition; Thierry Henry is next, on 17.
