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Brighton beat Brentford 2-0 at the Amex in Matchweek 10, and the game was more or less settled by half-time. Diego Gómez put them ahead early on, Igor Thiago was sent off for Brentford shortly afterwards following a VAR review, and Pascal Groß made it two from the penalty spot just before the break. After that Brighton had a man extra and an easy afternoon, though they did collect four yellow cards along the way, because why not. That lifts Brighton to 22 points from ten games, with Brentford staying on 12 and a red card they will want to forget.
Pre-match Talking Points
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1Brighton are third on 19 points with the best goal difference outside the top two. Win and they stay in the title-adjacent conversation; lose and Chelsea and Liverpool start breathing on their neck. Brentford are eighth on 12 points, and their stakes are about whether they can turn a lot of draws into wins. They have drawn six of their nine games so far, which is either admirably stubborn or quietly annoying, depending on who you ask.
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2These two know each other well. Brentford had never won away at Brighton in the Premier League as of the last preview coverage we could find, and Brighton have been unbeaten at home against them in the league. Brentford have been a tricky opponent for Brighton generally, though, so this is not a free hit for the home side. If someone says Brighton will cruise it, you can politely wonder aloud.
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3Player to watch: Igor Thiago, Brentford's centre-forward. He was on 17 league goals by mid-February last season, behind only Erling Haaland in the scoring charts, which is a very strange place for a Brentford striker to be. If he scores here, you can say you saw it coming. Slightly less than Haaland, a lot cheaper.
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4The subplot is Brighton's scoring form against Brentford's draw habit. Brighton have scored 22 in nine games (they beat Coventry 5-0 in September), while Brentford have conceded 11. Fabian Hurzeler, Brighton's manager, has reportedly agreed a long-term extension, so the dugout looks settled. We couldn't find confirmed team news this morning, so check the line-ups an hour before kick-off.
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5The hook: this is a clash of the league's most energetic pressers against a team that is very happy to sit back, draw and counter. Brighton have led the league in high turnovers in recent seasons, and Brentford are dangerous the second they win the ball back. Expect a game of two halves in the tactical sense: Brighton with the ball, Brentford with the plan.
Team Talking Points
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1Brighton are second in the Premier League going into the international break, with 22 points from 10 games. They've also got the best goal difference in the division at +19 – better even than leaders Arsenal's +10. Drop that stat and you'll sound like you've been reading the small print.
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2Last weekend they beat Brentford 2-0 at the Amex. Diego Gómez opened the scoring with a long-range screamer on his weaker foot, and Pascal Gross – back at the club and still pinging them in – added a penalty just before half-time.
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3The defence is the quiet story. That was their seventh clean sheet of the season and their fourth in five home league games. For a team usually praised for pretty football, they've become surprisingly hard to score against.
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4Fabian Hurzeler, still one of the youngest managers in the league, is having the best spell of his time at the club. Earlier in the season Brighton also thrashed newly promoted Coventry 5-0 – a result that set the tone for the whole autumn.
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5Next up is a trip to Hull on Sunday 22 November, then the fixtures get tougher. Brighton fans are cautiously excited – being five points behind Arsenal in second is uncharted territory, so let them enjoy it without saying the words 'title race' too loudly.
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Top thing to say down the pub
Best goal difference in the league and seven clean sheets already – Brighton aren't just the pretty-football side any more, they're properly hard to beat.
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Avoid saying
"Brighton always sell their best players, they'll fall away" – yes, they sell well, and yet here they are second in the table. It's the business model working, not a weakness, and Brighton fans are very tired of explaining that.
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1Brentford's last game was a 2-0 defeat at high-flying Brighton, and it turned on a red card. Striker Igor Thiago was initially booked after a tussle with Brighton's Chema Andrés, but referee Michael Oliver upgraded it to red after a look at the pitchside monitor.
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2Manager Keith Andrews wasn't thrilled. He suggested Thiago had been provoked and questioned how the decision was reached, while also accepting his players need to take responsibility for their conduct. 'We need to learn and grow as a group' was the line – which is manager-speak for 'we'll be having words'.
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3Despite that, Brentford's season is genuinely decent: they're eighth with 14 points from 10 games, and that was only their second league defeat of the season. Five draws means they're hard to beat, if not always easy to watch win.
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4They've already had a statement result, beating Chelsea 3-0 back in October. For a club with a fraction of Chelsea's budget, that's the kind of afternoon fans will be bringing up for years, so feel free to mention it.
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5Next up after the break is Everton at home on 21 November – and with Thiago likely facing a suspension after the red, Andrews may need to find goals from elsewhere. Brentford are only two points off the European places, so it's a big one.
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Top thing to say down the pub
Only two league defeats all season and they battered Chelsea 3-0 – Brentford are a lot better than the 'plucky little Bees' label they still get.
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Avoid saying
"Brentford? Aren't they the ones that just got promoted?" – they've been in the Premier League since 2021. Say that and a Bees fan will politely explain the last five years to you, in full.