English Premier

2026-02-21 - Brentford vs Brighton

A Sports Betting Pick by Auls

Brentford v Brighton
Football: English Premier League
Saturday 21st February 2026 - Kick Off 3pm

Brentford

Keith Andrews may not have been entirely happy with his own players, but he made his way into the Macclesfield dressing room to let the non-League players know how much they had impressed him. This is an action that has gone down pretty well in football circles and Andrews will just be pleased his Brentford team have made it through to the FA Cup Fifth Round and avoided the same embarrassment that Crystal Palace suffered.

They have a tough game at West Ham United coming up in the Fifth Round, but Brentford fans have to be really excited about how this season looks to be shaping up down the stretch. The Bees are 7th in the Premier League table after earning a 1-1 draw with Arsenal in the last round of fixtures and they are just 4 points behind West London rivals Chelsea in 5th place. Home form has been hugely important to Brentford all season and they have a 7-4-2 record at the Gtech Community Stadium.

Brentford have lost just twice in the last 12 games played in all competitions and they have picked up real momentum by winning 8 times in that run. It is perhaps a slight surprise that Brentford have won only 1 of the last 4 Premier League games at home, although the numbers from those fixtures suggest the side have deserved more than they have gotten out of those matches.

Kevin Schade is back from a suspension and Igor Thiago will be able to celebrate his new contract in front of the home fans after both missed the trip to Macclesfield. The manager did make one or two other changes to the starting eleven and a fuller, stronger eleven will be named for this Premier League outing.

Brighton

The pressure has to be mounting on Fabian Hurzeler as manager of Brighton with many fans unimpressed that he decided to make as many changes as he did for the FA Cup Fourth Round tie at Anfield last weekend. Those decisions did not pay off and Brighton are set to miss out on a return to European Football again, which is not going to go down that well with the board.

More pressing right now is that Brighton have been on a considerable slump of form and have been quietly slipping back towards the bottom three in the Premier League. The Seagulls are 14th in the table, but they are now just 7 points clear of an improving West Ham United and will travel to West London with a 2-4-7 away record.

Brighton have won 1 of the last 8 games played in all competitions and they have not won any of 6 fixtures since the FA Cup Third Round win at Manchester United last month. Even more concerning is that they have lost 4 of the last 5 games played, while picking up a single point from the last 4 Premier League fixtures. Brighton have not won an away Premier League game since the end of November and have lost 3 in a row on their travels in all competitions.

Yasin Ayari is hoping to travel with the squad, but Solly March may have to miss out again. The starting eleven should have a more familiar look than the one that begun the Cup tie at Anfield, especially in the attacking third.

Head to Head

Brighton scored twice in the last 20 minutes to come from behind and beat Brentford 2-1 at the Amex Stadium in November.

They have not won any of the last 3 at the Gtech Community Stadium though and it is Brentford who have won twice in that time.

Prediction

This may not be a derby, but there is no love lost between the owners and that is then reflected by those in the stands.

At the start of the season, Brentford were expected to be in a fight for survival and Brighton would have been considered a challenger for European Football, but those roles have flipped around in the course of the season.

Keith Andrews has to be given so much credit for the work he has been doing, while the players stepping up to replace Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa should also be praised. That has not been lost on the board and Brentford have given Igor Thiago a new contract having scored seventeen League goals already and being a major factor in Brentford's push for a place in a UEFA competition for the first time in the club's history.

He was rested on Monday night as Brentford forced their way past Macclesfield in the FA Cup Fourth Round and the fans have to be really excited about what the next three months holds for them.

A strong run of form has moved Brentford into 7th place and that has come at the same kind of time period as Brighton have slumped into the bottom third of the Division.

Back in early December, Brighton were just 3 points off the top four places in the Premier League table, but that gap is now 14 points and they are going to be a little uneasy seeing the situation developing behind them.

All of a sudden there are just 7 points between Brighton and 18th placed West Ham United, while the team have looked really short of confidence. Little things are going against them and the pressure is building on Fabian Hurzeler, which makes this a hugely important game.

Key players were rested in the defeat at Liverpool in the FA Cup Fourth Round, which only adds to the frustration felt by the Brighton supporters, and The Seagulls have lost 3 away games in a row. They are struggling at both ends of the pitch and recent visits to the Gtech Community Stadium have not gone very well for Brighton.

Recent home form has not been as strong as Brentford would have liked, but they have been the better team in the draws with both Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal and in the defeat to Nottingham Forest. With a bit more composure in the final third, Brentford may have put together stronger results from those home matches, and having Kevin Schade back and a rested Igor Thiago gives them enough of an edge and makes them worthy of backing at an appealing price.