Well, that’s that. A result that does not really do an awful lot for either side. It wasn’t a classic. Thanks for your company. Bye!
Full-time: Brighton and Hove Albion 1-1 Southampton
Game over. Glenn Murray earns a point for the hosts.
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90+2 min: Pellegrino slaps his thighs as van Dijk just hoofs the ball out of play.
90+1 min: Knockaert loses out to Romeu in the challenge but the Southampton midfielder soon runs out of ideas. His team appear to have done so too. There are 90 seconds or so to play.
89 min: Murray clears. And the fourth official informs us there will be three minutes of added time. Meanwhile, Bong has just been booked for a hearty challenge on Shane Long.
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88 min: Cedric’s cross is diverted for a corner by Bong. Up come Hoedt and van Dijk. Can they?
87 min: Southampton hoof the ball clear. You sense they’d take a point now.
86 min: Izquierdo, who has been causing problems in the channels, until just a moment ago is replaced by March.
84 min: Here comes Solly March for Brighton.
83 min: Gross is replaced by Brown. They’ll miss his invention in the next seven minutes or so. Tadic and Ward-Prowse are off for Saints. Long, and the lesser-spotted Hojbjerg is on for the visitors.
82 min: Ward-Prowse’s delivery from the right causes havoc, and causes Duffy to head the ball against his own team-mate. Brighton hurriedly clear. Izzy Brown and Shane Long are about to enter, as is Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.
81 min: The fourth official is readying his board for a flurry of substitutions. Other than that, this match is danger of petering out.
79 min: Ward-Prowse’s free-kick is low and it eventually ends up in the air, with Hoedt clashing with Duffy in search of the ball. Danger averted for Brighton, for now at least.
78 min: Duffy stupidly fouls Gabbiadini, who has barely had a a sniff this afternoon. Another thought: Pascal Gross looks mustard, and a real snip for the £3m Brighton paid Ingolstadt for him over the summer.
77 min: Gross lays it off nicely for Knockaert but his shot is wayward. Can either team conjure up a bit of magic?
75 min: Ah. Redmond’s first meaningful contribution is to lash the ball straight out of play.
74 min: Knockaert lofts a ball in towards Duffy but Southampton clear. Hughton is chewing gum faster and faster.
73 min: “Lewis Dunk, he’s one of our own” comes the chorus from the home supporters. The Brighton defender is said to have an outside – a very outside – chance of finding his way into Gareth Southgate’s England squad on Thursday. Stranger things have happened.
70 min: Virgil van Dijk doesn’t know a lot about it but clears Izquierdo’s thunderous drive at goal. He is winded for his efforts but lets out just a smile. The ball then springs into Duffy, on the edge of the box, but he’s overrawed and its over. Meanwhile, Boufal is replaced by Redmond, who was given his debut at Birmingham City by Chris Hughton.
68 min: But it comes to nothing, with Brighton just beginning to huff and puff again. Southampton almost find a way back in, with Gabbiadini, starved of service all afternoon, almost sending Bertrand’s low cross beyond Ryan. Ward-Prowse’s resultant corner comes to nothing. Nathan Redmond’s warming up for Southampton ...
67 min: Gross carves out a corner for Brighton ...
66 min: Boufal does well, beating a couple of Brighton shirts before his cross-cum-shot is collected by Ryan. It wasn’t great, but it was another spark at least.
65 min: Tadic finds Cedric, but he runs the ball out play. Cue the jeers from the home supporters. Southampton are not having it all their own way this afternoon.
63 min:“Have you ever seen a slower moving goalkeeper than Forster?” asks JR in Illinois, via email. “He is woeful and seems to be getting worse each week.” Well, have you?
61 min: Some brief fisticuffs between Wesley Hoedt and Glenn Murray. Both are booked for their troubles.
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60 min: Izquierdo picks out Gross, who’s very much the danger man here at the moment. He dinks in a lovely cross but nobody’s on the end of it. It’s a case of role reversal, with Saints on the back foot.
58 min: Bertrand is penalised, and Southampton are rattled. Brighton swing in a deep free-kick but Forster gets his gloves on that one.
57 min: Stephens finds Murray, who tries to find Knockaert but it runs out of play. He’s furious with himself.
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55 min: Brighton are suddenly on the charge. Tails are up etc. Bruno bombs down the right and Saints forced the ball clear. Then comes Gross again, looking for Murray once more. But van Dijk does enough to clear the ball for a corner.
54 min: More fruits from the Gross-Murray combination too. His cross was headed home, but question marks will hover over Forster there. He’s been poor over the last 12 months or so.
52 min: Was that another goal conceded by Forster in the ‘could-do-better’ category? He looks annoyed.
GOAL! Brighton 1-1 Southampton (Murray, 51)
Ah. That’s not so good for Saints. A looped cross stands up nicely for Murray, who nods home at the back post. Forster can’t get there and Albion are level.
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48 min: Bertrand’s low, troublesome cross is dealt with by Duffy. But this is another good start by Southampton. They’re looking much improved this afternoon. So far, so good.
47 min: Bong then deflects Boufal’s volley. Another corner ...
46 min: Saints get an early free-kick, which Ward-Prowse fizzes in. Dunk clears the ball away from the Southampton cavalry for a corner.
Peeeeeeep!
Southampton get us back under way in Sussex.
Half-time: Brighton and Hove Albion 0-1 Southampton
One minute of added time garners nothing and Steven Davis’s goal after seven minutes is the difference the interval.
43 min: Knockaert’s ball in fails to clear the first man and that’s too easy for Southampton. Boufal then tricks his way upfield (we’ve seen that before) allowing Saints to push forward. Ryan eventually gathers, after a harmless cross is sent in from Tadic.
42 min: Gross wins a free-kick down the right. It would be a great time to score, as they say ...
40 min: Van Dijk loses out to Glenn Murray after Ryan hoofs the ball downfield. A stray elbow from the Southampton defender catches Murray. Gross loops it in, it then falls to Propper but Southampton get bodies behind the ball. It comes back out wide, and Knockaert arriving late at the back post almost slides the ball home. Straight after, Knockaert keeps it alive and curls an effort just wide of goal. Hughton will be encouraged by that.
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38 min: Forster gathers the ball after a rather wicked deflection sends it goalwards. It was promising from Izquierdo and Gross, but it’s all a little predictable from the hosts. They need to get the home supporters up on their feet somehow.
36 min: Tomer Hemed puffs out his cheeks on the sidelines. That sums it up for Brighton, who simply have not done enough with the ball so far.
34 min: Romeu finds Boufal, who pops up on the right flank. He unselfishly cuts the ball back for Tadic, just inside the 18-yard box, who flashes an effort wide. That’s another warning for Brighton, should they need one. Brighton look to go straight on the counterattack but Saints sniff it out.
33 min: Boufal’s trickery comes to nothing. Duffy heads clear and Southampton go again, with Cedric and Tadic linking well before Bong then clears. This has been a good little spell for Saints.
32 min: Brighton are huffing and puffing a little now. Cedric wins Southampton a first corner of the afternoon, after bombing down the right.
30 min: Murray wins a foul just inside the Southampton half and Brighton have another chance to attack ...
29 min: Now Boufal is down but Neil Swarbrick isn’t having it. Good on him too.
27 min: Plenty of possession for Brighton, more than 60% in fact, but they have nothing to show for it yet. Romeu has just done well to nick the ball off Bruno. Bong v Tadic then sees the Serbian grounded. He’s moaning about a very minor clash halfway up the pitch. Crikey.
25 min: Southampton are trying to calm things down but just as they slow it down, the ball keeps coming straight back at them. Knockaert gets the ball out wide, after good work by Gross but his cutback eludes everybody.
24 min: Brighton are really probing Southampton here. That Davis effort, after seven minutes, was his first headed goal in the Premier League since 2006.
22 min: Duffy’s hopeful ball in search of Bong is cut out, so Brighton are forced to rebuild. Izquierdo has some joy down the left before Hoedt hoofs it clear. Then come Brighton back for more. Southampton need to just gain some control here.
20 min: Bertrand wins a foul off Bruno, just as it looked as though Brighton may be in down the right flank. Saints were perhaps a little fortunate there. Forster duly boots it downfield.
19 min: It comes to nothing, with Brighton starting from scratch at the back again. Southampton are defending very deep and it will not be long before Chris Hughton’s side are back on the attack.
18 min: Izquierdo has a go at Cedric, but one-on-one, the Portuguese holds firm. Brighton get a throw-in down the left for their efforts, though ...
17 min: Bertrand tugs at Gross’s shirt and there’s only one outcome: a Brighton free-kick 30 yards from goal, way out on the right flank. Knockaert whips it in, with Propper there to meet it but by the time it got to him, all of the pace on the ball has evaporated and Forster gathers. Now here they come again.
16 min: Southampton have invited Brighton on to them a little since scoring. Bruno’s long throw from the right causes a moment’s panic, but Romeu does well to tidy it up.
15 min: Bruno gets to the byline before lifting a cross in towards Murray. Fraser Forster’s got it all day long, with van Dijk blocking off the striker’s run at the ball. And that’s that.
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14 min: Izquierdo does well, jinking inside before finding Murray, whose 20 yards from goal, but the Brighton striker is soon crowded out. Hoedt nabs the ball before building another Southampton attack. It comes to nothing.
12 min: “Les Reed went to Europe to buy a Lamborghini, instead he bought a striker, his name was Gabbiadini” echoes out of the away end. The Italy striker has not had a sniff here yet. Nevermind, lovely stuff.
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11 min: Boufal opens up his legs and dribbles towards goal, down the left flank, but he’s soon stopped in his tracks. Brighton get back hold of the bal, with Propper and Stephens patiently waiting to find an opening.
9 min: Hughton is rallying the troops. Brighton have not lost very many at the Amex ...
7 min: What a start by Southampton. It’s only their third away goal of the season. And it’s their captain, Steven Davis, who gets it. Pellegrino is trying incredibly hard to contain his smile. It’s almost a smirk.
That was a marvellous free-kick by Ward-Prowse. He wrapped his right boot around it, and it cannoned off the apex of the goal, down into the box, into the path of Davis who did the rest.
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GOAL! Brighton 0-1 Southampton (Davis, 7)
Ward-Prowse rattles the frame of the goal and Davis stabs home the rebound.
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5 min: Boufal is fouled by Stephens, about 25 yards from goal. Ward-Prowse, who prides himself as a set-piece specialist, will surely take this ...
4 min: It’s all very neat so far from Southampton. They’re seeing plenty of the ball.
3 min: Stephens gets hold of the ball centrally but he gifts the ball to Hoedt. Saints build through Cedric down the right, looking for Gabbiadini but Dunk intercepts. Saints then seize back possession ...
1 min: Virgil van Dijk and Wesley Hoedt, both Holland internationals, are partnered in central defence for Southampton this afternoon. They knock the ball about for some early possession. A smooth start.
Peeeeeeeeeeep!
Lewis Dunk sends a long, thumping ball upfield.
An immaculately observed minute’s silence is held, before the teams limber up, and get into their respective huddles ready for the off.
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The teams are out of the tunnel. Fraser Forster struts his way on to the pitch while Bruno, the Brighton captain, is caught looking up at the Gods by the television cameras. Kick-off is imminent ...
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Pellegrino speaks, and says Charlie Austin is missing through injury this afternoon. “It’s a season with ups and downs, not too regular in terms of results but I think we are getting better in terms of performance and how we are playing, to be more intelligent, more clinical, to create different situations, and we are working on the base of the team.”
Sofiane Boufal makes his second league start of the season today. He scored a beauty against West Brom last time out but his celebration – right in his manager’s face – led to Mauricio Pellegrino giving him a “private” telling off. Here’s hoping for more of this today.
Around 68 miles separates Brighton from Southampton. This isn’t a derby ... is it?
Claude Puel, dumped by Southampton in June, returned to the Premier League with Leicester City this week. They are in action against Everton later, but he’s been speaking about his time at St Mary’s. “I liked it last season at Southampton,” he says. “It was a good season, we improved young players, we finished eighth. It was interesting that after that we stopped it. It was a good thing for me to come back to see the Premier League.”
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Brighton, unsurprisingly, are unchanged while there are three changes for Southampton; in come Wesley Hoedt, James Ward-Prowse and Sofiane Boufal. There’s no Charlie Austin nor Mario Lemina, although the latter is injured (ankle).
The teams!
Brighton and Hove Albion: Ryan; Bruno, Dunk, Duffy, Bong; Knockaert, Stephens, Propper, Izquierdo; Gross; Murray
Subs: Krul, Hemed, Goldson, March, Schelotto, Suttner, Brown
Southampton: Forster; Cedric, van Dijk, Hoedt, Bertrand; Davis, Romeu; Ward-Prowse, Tadic, Boufal; Gabbiadini
Subs: McCarthy, Yoshida, Stephens, Hojbjerg, McQueen, Redmond, Long
Preamble
A lot has changed since Brighton and Hove Albion last hosted Southampton, then Championship leaders, at the Amex Stadium in 2012. Brighton won 3-0 on that January day, with Rickie Lambert – of all people – sent off for Saints. Sadly there’s no Craig Mackail-Smith, David Connolly or Guly do Prado involved in Sussex this afternoon.
Today, both teams are mid-table in the Premier League but are not exactly comfortable, with only four points separating 11th-placed Southampton from the relegation zone. Just three act as a buffer between the drop-zone and Brighton. Southampton have been unconvincing under Mauricio Pellegrino while Brighton will arrive into this one with a bounce after that win over West Ham last Friday. This is Chris Hughton’s 100th Premier League match as a manager. It’s going to be a good one.
Team news (will Sofiane Boufal be thrust in after that goal against West Brom, etc) will be upon us shortly.
Kick-off: 1.30pm (GMT)
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