Brighton v Watford betting tips: Potter hoping for midfield magic

Watford got off to the ideal start, with only a late Villa penalty taking the gloss off a 3-2 win last week.

The Hornets are 17/4 to defeat Brighton and they hope to buck a trend that saw them lose their last six away Premier League matches in the 2019-20 season, when they managed just 10 points on their travels.

Brighton v Watford head-to-head

The teams have met 116 times since 1921, with Brighton winning 45 of those contests and Watford successful on 36 occasions. There have been 35 draws.

The home side has won just three of the last 13 league meetings (D6 L4), including none of the last three such matches since a 2-0 Watford win at Vicarage Road in August 2018.

It is 11/10 for Watford to win or draw the game and 10/1 for the Hornets to win but concede.

The Seagulls have won just two of the last 11 meetings and only one of the last eight at home. Watford are 7/1 to win to nil in the Brighton v Watford betting tips.

Brighton v Watford team news

Brighton’s Republic of Ireland striker Aaron Connolly will be back in contention after missing last week for personal reasons.

Forward Danny Welbeck and full-back Tariq Lamptey remain sidelined with hamstring problems. Defender Joel Veltman will miss out due to self-isolation.

Josh King could make his Watford debut after recovering from a minor groin strain. Defender Kiko Femenia is also available.

Xisco Munoz (pictured above) is happy with the partnership Emmanuel Dennis and Ismaila Sarr are building. They set each other up for goals against Villa.

Dennis is 7/2 to score at any time while Sarr is 8/1 to grab the first goal in the Brighton v Watford betting tips.

New signing Ozan Tufan is not ready, however.

Striker Joao Pedro (knee) and Nathaniel Chalobah (illness) will again be unavailable while fellow midfielder Will Hughes is training away from the first team as negotiations over his future continue.

Brighton v Watford key battles

The lack of goals from midfield is still a major concern for Potter.

Bissouma scored once in 36 Premier League matches last season, Pascal Gross converted three penalties in 34 games while Adam Lallana notched one in 30 games and Mac Allister one in 21 appearances.

Watford’s pace will unsettle Albion, who are looking to win both of their opening two games to a top-flight season for the first time in what is their ninth different campaign at this level.

The odds are 19/4 for Brighton to win 1-0 and it is 4/6 that one or other team fails to score, as has been the case on six of the last seven meetings.

View the latest Brighton v Watford odds

All odds and markets correct as of date of publication