Bristol Rovers vs Brighton Predictions

The Graham Potter era at Brighton has faced a mixed start. Their 3-0 win at Watford seemed to be the start of something great for the Seagulls, but they have failed to win back to back home games. This week sees Potter take his side into the Carabao Cup, which could be a great opportunity for the club to have a cup run alongside their Premier League campaign. The visitors are favourites to make the third round as they head to League One Bristol Rovers this week.

The hosts have done enough to sit in midtable in the third tier, as they have hit form in their last few games. They’ve now won three out of four in all competitions, with back to back wins taking them into this clash with some momentum. While they head into this one as massive outsiders, they have managed to win their last four home clashes in this competition. That includes a 3-0 success over Cheltenham just this month in the first round. Can they maintain their high scoring form in this game?

Brighton have tailed off a little in recent weeks, but there are good signs for the club under Potter. Last term his Swansea side were quite inconsistent across the campaign, but they got enough points over the campaign in order to finish 10th. Now he is hoping to bring Brighton forward, but he will have work to do in order to turn the Seagulls into a passing side. They’re becoming more open than they were under Chris Hughton, which could lead to a few teething problems this term.

Brighton have already had trouble on the road in this competition, conceding 17 times across their last 10 trips in the Carabao Cup. They have conceded in their last two matches in the league, while they have had long-term issues in the cup. We can’t see them risking all of their first choice defenders days away from a clash with Man City in the league, which is another reason that we can see some joy for the hosts in this clash.

Bristol Rovers have scored in eight of their last nine home matches, with their last three here seeing nine goals scored in total. However, their last nine here have seen them keep only two clean sheets, so we can see a few goals in this one. We’re backing both teams to score here following Rovers’ scoring streak in this competition. However, Brighton’s quality should see them score here so we’re backing both teams to score.