Brighton hope to pull clear of danger against Europe chasing Everton

Brighton have found themselves on the brink of being dragged back into the Premier League fight for survival. Despite being a comfortable ten points clear of 18th placed Burnley, those below them have recently began to pick up points, slowly reeling in Chris Hughton’s men.

Everton, meanwhile, recovered from a 6-2 humbling at home against Spurs to put Burnley to the sword on Boxing Day with a thumping 5-1 victory at Turf Moor and remain in the hunt for European football next season. Marco Silva has guided his side to eighth place and just five points off Manchester United, who reside in sixth.

The Seagulls will hope to continue a 12-game streak of scoring at their home ground, although they have taken just two points from a possible 12 when conceding first at the AMEX Stadium. The Toffees have not lost in seven games away from home where they take the lead, making the first goal in this game absolutely crucial.

The visiting side have only one injury concern as young winger Ademola Lookman has suffered a knock and is a major doubt for this fixture. But Marco Silva has a large pool of players to choose from, all of whom will be hoping to build on their first five-goal Premier League haul since 1996.

Chris Hughton will be unable to call on his record signing Alireza Jahanbakhsh, who will miss the game with a hamstring problem. José Izquierdo is also set to miss the game against Everton with a knee injury, both wingers are hoping to be available for the game against Bournemouth in the FA Cup.

Glenn Murray will be key for the home side, who would be seven points worse off with his goals, despite not scoring in the last three home games.

For Everton, Lucas Digne has hit a purple patch in front of goal, scoring a brace in the 5-1 defeat of Burnley, whilst also scoring a late equaliser in a recent 2-2 draw with Watford.

Prediction: Brighton 1-3 Everton