AUSSIE DUO HIGH IN BRIGHTON’S HOPES
BRIGHTON’S Australian duo of Mat Ryan and Aaron Mooy return to EPL action early tomorrow in what is shaping as a vital match in the club’s bid to fight off relegation.
After a bright start to the season, Brighton has tailed off since Christmas and remains the only team in the division not to register a victory in 2020 and sits 15th, two points clear of third-bottom Bournemouth.
The Seagulls host Arsenal, which was defeated by Manchester City on Wednesday, and are looking to maintain their four-match unbeaten run against the Gunners, which includes a 2-1 win at the Emirates Stadium in December.
Mooy was outstanding in that match, topping the stats charts for his side with the most dribbles, passes and tackles before setting up the winning goal for Neal Maupay, to seal a first away win over Arsenal by a Brighton side.
Socceroos stopper Ryan has been ever-present between the sticks this season and a key factor in the club preserving its top-flight status since his arrival in 2017.
Despite that fine win over
Arsenal on December 5, manager Graham Potter admits restarting the season almost from scratch renders any previous result meaningless.
“Unfortunately you don’t get anything in football for what happened three months ago,” Potter said.
“You have to start again and try to play as well, you have to do a lot of things right to beat a team I think is much-improved under Mikel Arteta.
“It’s a tough game, but if you can tell me a game in the Premier League that isn’t, maybe we could play that one.”
With matches against highflying Leicester and Manchester United to come, avoiding defeat by Arsenal is vital for the Seagulls if they are to create some breathing space at the bottom.
A full program of fixtures returns for the first time since the COVID-19 outbreak in March and kicked off overnight when cellar-dwelling Norwich hosted Southampton at Carrow Road.
That match was followed by a mouth-watering clash between Manchester United and Jose Mourinho’s Spurs at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Tonight’s schedule of matches is headlined by West Ham, which sits outside the relegation zone on goal difference, taking on Champions League hopefuls Wolves at the Olympic Stadium.
Runaway league leader Liverpool can move three points closer to a first title in 30 years when it faces Merseyside rival Everton at Goodison Park. The Toffees have not defeated Liverpool in 10 years but can at least avoid the ignominy of seeing their bitter foe win the league on their home ground.