Burnley vs Brighton & Hove Albion

Turf Moor is the venue as Burnley and Brighton & Hove Albion go head-to-head in their 2021/22 Premier League curtain-raiser.

A thoroughly disappointing 2020/21 Premier League season saw Burnley finish one place above the relegation zone, having lost 50% of their league fixtures last term (W10, D9, L19). Burnley’s dismal form at the tail-end of last season may douse any embers of optimism that they can improve this time around as they lost four of their final five top-flight fixtures (W1), drawing a blank in three of them. With fans back in attendance at Turf Moor after a 17-month hiatus, the ‘Clarets’ will be aiming to halt a horrendous ten-match winless Premier League streak at home (D5, L5). A lack of firepower in the front third saw Sean Dyche’s side fail to score in four of those games, netting precisely once per match in the other six.

In the meantime, Brighton spent most of the 2020/21 season in the bottom half of the table and eventually finished the second-lowest survivors. Despite some convincing displays down the final stretch of last season, the ‘Seagulls’ were the only side outside the relegation territory to fail to hit double digits in terms of the Premier League wins (W9, D14, L15). On the bright side, Brighton’s previous two top-flight openers away from home yielded identical 3-0 victories, both of which saw them lead at half-time. What’s more, the visitors have suffered just one defeat in their last seven league trips to Burnely (W2, D4), with 71.43% of those encounters featuring under 2.5 total goals. That coupled with Brighton’s average of 1.26 goals conceded per away Premier League game last season promises a low-scoring contest.