MY ACCOUNT
Brighton are buoyant and Leeds are loving life at the moment, so Saturday’s clash of clubs that are currently exceeding expectations should be a cracker.
Leeds’ 3-0 home victory over Chelsea could finally be enough for Jesse Marsh to win the fans over after the American head coach endured a lukewarm welcome last season.
He will now attempt to do something else that predecessor Marcelo Bielsa could not – get three points against a Seagulls side perched just below them on the same seven-point tally after three games.
Brighton like teams to come onto them at home so a visit from the press-masters of the Premier League should suit Graham Potter’s men down to the ground.
The Seagulls were stymied by Newcastle sitting back for long periods of the 0-0 draw at Amex Stadium earlier this month, but doing that is not in the Whites’ nature at all.
Team news
Potter, who made 11 changes for Albion’s 3-0 win away to Forest Green Rovers in the EFL Cup in midweek, is likely to restore all his big guns from the off on Saturday.
The Englishman has named the same starting XI in each of Brighton’s opening three league games and it would be a major surprise if he deviated from that successful formula here.
That would mean Leandro Trossard, who scored Albion’s clincher in the 2-0 win at West Ham last weekend, staying at left wing-back.
Jakub Moder is still sidelined for several months with the cruciate ligament rupture that the Poland international midfielder sustained towards the end of last season, but otherwise, Brighton are in rude health.
For Leeds, Junior Firpo and Luke Ayling are scheduled to return to full training next week, so will not be considered.
Neither will long-term casualty Stuart Dallas, but Liam Cooper featured for the first time this season when Leeds knocked Barnsley out of the EFL Cup on Wednesday.
The club captain is in contention for a place on the bench at Brighton with Marsch reluctant to change a winning team, which also means there is no rush to get Patrick Bamford back up and running following the adductor injury that he sustained against Southampton two weeks ago.
The stats
Brighton’s Robert Sanchez has kept Premier League two clean sheets and possesses the highest save percentage of all Premier League goalkeepers this season (90%).
England World Cup hopeful Jack Harrison has assisted goals for Premier League top-scorer Rodrigo in all three of Leeds’ league contests this season.
Fellow Whites midfielder Brenden Aaronson, who scored the opener against Chelsea, has made more pressures on opposing players in the attacking third of the pitch than any other player in the Premier League this season (39).
Leeds’ stand-in left-back Pascal Struijk has won the most tackles (12) of any Premier League player in 2022-23.
Prediction
Brighton have hardly put a foot wrong this season and ought to extend their recent unbeaten sequence against Leeds, although a home win is by no means guaranteed.
They were much more effective on the road in 2021-22, collecting 29 of their 51 points outside Sussex, and that trend appears to be continuing this season.
However, they have won two and drawn two of their last four meetings with Leeds – suggesting that, stylistically at least, they are suited to playing them.
Leeds love to prove the critics wrong, but they have received nothing but praise all week and it could lead to a drop in performance levels on Saturday.
Marsch’s men are outperforming their expected goals figure while Brighton are underperforming theirs slightly, so it may be savvy to keep Albion onside from a betting perspective in this clash.
