Albion v Watford
PREMIER LEAGUE
Venue: The American Express Community Stadium
Date: Saturday 8th February 2020
Kick-off: 17:30 GMT
Referee: Kevin Friend
Assistants: Simon Bennett, Adrian Holmes
Fourth official: Simon Hooper
VAR: Andre Marriner
Assistant VAR: Andrew Halliday
TEAM NEWS
Shane Duffy is available for Brighton after recovering from surgery to remove a blood clot in his leg.
Fellow defender Dan Burn could return from the broken collarbone he suffered on New Year's Day, while new signing Tariq Lamptey might be involved.
Watford midfielder Tom Cleverley is in line to make his comeback from an Achilles injury.
The Hornets will assess Nathaniel Chalobah, who was substituted due to a back spasm last week, and Ismaila Sarr.
Winger Sarr has not played since sustaining a hamstring injury against Tottenham three weeks ago.
MOTD COMMENTATOR'S NOTES
Jonathan Pearce: Brighton's U-turn over Glen Murray was essential. One moment he had no apparent future. Now, with a new contract, Graham Potter says the forward has "a big part to play".
Successful pass and possession stats HAVE risen this season. But the percentage of passes they make in the attacking third per game has dropped from 27.6% to 26.9%, suggesting hold-up play is poor. They also have the division's worst big-chance conversion rate. Murray can change all that if he starts a game Albion must win.
Watford are dipping after their initial rise under Nigel Pearson. But he is getting the best out of Troy Deeney, and the service from wide positions is good.
I predict the losers will be in trouble right to the final day.
WHAT THE MANAGERS SAY
Graham Potter: "We need to improve our points tally - and obviously we're focusing on that for the weekend.
"It's not going to give me any comfort looking at the league table and deciding who's in it [the relegation fight] and who's not, we just have to focus on ourselves.
"I think Arsenal have won the same number of games as us, so it just shows you that wins in the Premier League are hard to come by for everybody."
Watford head coach Nigel Pearson: "We have an opportunity at the weekend to get back to winning ways and that is what we will try to do.
"It is important we put as much pressure on other teams around us, and we do that by getting our own results right.
"The realism of being involved in a relegation battle is that you have to get over setbacks pretty quickly."
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
[*=left]Brighton won the reverse fixture 3-0 on the opening weekend of the season, scoring one more goal than they had in total in the previous seven league meetings.
[*=left]Albion are vying to secure their first league double over Watford since 1990-91, when the sides were playing in the second tier.
[*=left]Watford's only defeat in their past seven league visits to Brighton came in the Premier League in December 2017 (W3, D3).
[*=left]The Seagulls are winless in all five Premier League fixtures in 2020. Their tally of three points this year is the division's joint-lowest tally, along with Crystal Palace.
[*=left]Albion's solitary victory in 10 league matches came against Bournemouth in December (D5, L4).
[*=left]That is also their only victory in the past seven league and cup fixtures at the Amex Stadium.
[*=left]Graham Potter's side have 26 points after 25 games, one fewer than at this stage of last season under Chris Hughton.
[*=left]Brighton have conceded three goals in successive league matches for the first time this season.
[*=left]Neal Maupay, Brighton's top scorer in the Premier League this season with seven goals, has gone seven appearances in the division without scoring.
[*=left]Glenn Murray's goal against West Ham last weekend made him the Premier League's oldest scorer this season, aged 36 years & 129 days.
[*=left]Watford have lost successive league matches and are winless in three, having previously taken 13 points from five games.
[*=left]They have lost from winning positions in back-to-back games and dropped 15 points altogether this season.
[*=left]Nonetheless, Watford have the fifth best record in the league over the past eight matches - earning four wins and 14 points.
[*=left]The Hornets have failed to score in a league-high 11 fixtures this season.
[*=left]Nigel Pearson is winless in all four league matches as a manager versus Brighton at Amex Stadium (D2, L2).
[*=left]Troy Deeney has scored five Premier League goals since Nigel Pearson's first game in charge of Watford, a tally only bettered by Mohamed Salah and Sergio Aguero, with seven goals each.
this is the first genuine must win of the season imo. We just don’t win them do we?
