Premier League Preview: Clash of Winning Streaks for Top Spot! Arsenal Defends Clean Sheet, Brighton Aims to Recreate Away Comeback

On August 31st, the first match of the third round of the Premier League sees Arsenal hosting Brighton. Both teams have started the new season with consecutive wins, and they both aim to continue their momentum in this round to climb to the top of the table, but which team will succeed?

Both teams won all their matches in the previous two rounds. Notably, only four teams achieved consecutive wins after the first two rounds of the season, and Arsenal and Brighton are two of them. The direct confrontation between these two teams means that at least one of them will end their winning streak after this round.

Arsenal’s attack has seen a harmonious partnership between Saka, Havertz, Odegaard, and others. Additionally, Sterling has just joined on loan, and it remains to be seen whether he will make his debut for his new club in this round. Arsenal also signed defenders Calafiori, midfielder Merino, and goalkeeper Raya during the summer transfer window. Furthermore, Arsenal has not conceded any goals in the first two rounds, showcasing an impressive defensive performance. However, Merino suffered an injury during training, and manager Arteta has confirmed that the player will be out for several weeks.

Including the midweek EFL Cup, Brighton has now secured three consecutive wins, scoring nine goals and conceding only one. However, the midweek cup match puts Brighton at a disadvantage in terms of fitness, and they are also playing away from home in this round. Nevertheless, after signing new players such as Rothel, Jan-Kuba Mint, Mats Wever, Gruda, Kadıoğlu, O’Reilly, and Yarkuie during the summer transfer window, Brighton’s squad depth is sufficient to cope with multiple fronts.

Over the course of the season, Arsenal has won four consecutive home games, and only one of these four home games saw a goal conceded, while the other three were clean sheets. Brighton’s first away game of the season ended in a 3-0 victory over Everton, ending the embarrassing streak of eight consecutive away games (across multiple competitions) without a win towards the end of last season.

In the past 17 encounters between the two teams, Arsenal has achieved eight wins, three draws, and six losses, slightly holding the upper hand. Last season, Arsenal secured a double over Brighton with scores of 2-0 and 3-0. However, when playing at home, Arsenal has a record of three wins, one draw, and four losses against Brighton, which once achieved three consecutive away wins against Arsenal.

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