Table-toppers Arsenal make the trip to the South Coast on Saturday evening to take on high-flying Brighton at the Amex Stadium.
It’s a meeting between two sides who have perhaps overachieved this season, and who will both be looking to end 2022 on a high.
Roberto De Zerbi’s men currently sit in seventh place in the Premier League, and they comfortably beat Southampton 3-1 on boxing day.
Meanwhile, the Gunners saw off West Ham by the same scoreline last time out, and they will be wanting to keep their five-point lead ahead of Manchester City.
It promises to be a thrilling encounter between two extremely well-coached teams, who both harbour ambitions of a high finish this season.
Team News – Brighton
The Seagulls will be missing a number of players for this weekend’s encounter, and there’s a slight selection headache for De Zerbi in the middle of the park.
Moises Caicedo will miss the match through suspension after the Ecuadorian midfielder picked up his fifth booking of the season during last week’s win against Southampton.
Argentine World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister is still missing for Brighton, after he played a pivotal role for his nation in Qatar.
Defender Adam Webster and former Arsenal striker Danny Welbeck will also be unavailable as both have muscular problems.
Team News – Arsenal
Japanese defender Takehiro Tomiyasu could return to the Arsenal squad for the clash with the south-coast side.
He hasn’t featured for Mikel Arteta’s men since the beginning of November, but he did feature for Japan at the World Cup.
Emile Smith-Rowe is unlikely to make the game as he continues his recovery from his groin surgery, but he has taken part in some training sessions recently.
Forward Gabriel Jesus remains out following his knee surgery and he isn’t expected back until the end of February at the very earliest.
Previous meetings
In recent times, this has been a fixture that has gone well for Brighton.
They beat the North London outfit 3-1 in the EFL Cup back in November at the Emirates Stadium, thanks to goals by Welbeck, Kaoru Mitoma and Tariq Lamptey.
Last season, the two sides played out a stalemate at the Amex Stadium before the Seagulls got the better of Arsenal again with a 2-1 victory in the return fixture.
Enock Mwepu, who has been named as coach of the Brighton Under-9s team this week following his shock retirement, and Leandro Trossard scored the goals on that occasion.
Ones to Watch
Adam Lallana – Brighton
The South Coast side will be relying on the former England international to continue his fine form this season.
A suspension to Caicedo and unavailability to some of the other midfield options mean that Lallana will need to again produce for De Zerbi’s side.
He found the net against his former club Southampton last week and as he still possesses the quality to cause Arsenal problems.
Eddie Nketiah – Arsenal
When Gabriel Jesus was ruled out for up to three months with a knee injury, a collective gasp went out amongst the Arsenal fanbase, fearing that it would be a big blow to their title chances.
But Nketiah showed what he is capable of on Boxing Day, with a glorious turn and finish to complete the scoring against West Ham.
He stepped up last season following the departure of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and he was rewarded with a new contract in the summer.
The 23-year-old is someone that Brighton will need to watch closely.
Predicted line-ups
Brighton: Sanchez; Veltman, Dunk, Colwill, Estupinan; Gilmour, Gross; Mitoma, Lallana, March; Trossard
Arsenal: Ramsdale; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Partey, Xhaka, Odegaard; Saka, Martinelli, Nketiah
Where to watch
The match will kick-off at 17:30 and will be live on Sky Sports Premier League.
You can also watch with a Now TV sports pass.
