AEK Athens v Brighton

AEK Athens vs Brighton Preview

AEK Athens and Brighton meet on matchday 5 of Group B with both sides eager to take the spoils in this fixture especially AEK as they trail their Premier League counterparts by a three-point margin ahead of this upcoming encounter at the OPAP Arena with the Greek hosts looking to pick up a third win on the trot while Brighton will be fresh from their 3-2 win away from home at Nottingham Forest on the weekend.

Recent back-to-back wins in the Greek Super League will serve as a welcome boost for AEK as they recorded wins against Lamia and PAS Giannina in 3-0 and 1-0 victories respectively while the bigger picture shows the Greek hosts have suffered just the three defeats out of their last 15 matches overall.

Within this period, AEK have collected nine wins in the process which will also give Matias Almeyda's side renewed belief and purpose as they look to chase down their visitors in the group stage of the Europa League.

However, this may be easier said than done though as AEK Athens have managed to capture just two wins from their previous 10 Europa League ties overall and having also been dealt no fewer than seven defeats within this period, the hosts look to have their work cut out here, despite beating Brighton 3-2 in the earlier corresponding fixture.

Onto Brighton and The Seagulls extended their stubborn looking unbeaten run to six matches overall in all competitions on the weekend when they registered a 3-2 win away from home at Nottingham Forest and the south coast club have also recorded home and away wins against Dutch giants, Ajax, who find themselves struggling at the bottom of the Group B table.

Following last season's excellent campaign in the Premier League, this is Brighton's first ever foray into European competition and although they were handed a 3-2 loss at home to Thursday's upcoming opponents, AEK Athens, the visitors have since managed to get themselves together with Roberto de Zerbi's side putting together a three-match unbeaten run in the group stage of this competition.

A creditable 2-2 draw away from home at Marseille was followed by home and away wins against Ajax, handing The Seagulls a seven-point tally and lifting them up into second place in the Group B table.

Brighton had earlier captured wins on the road in the Premier League at Wolves and Manchester United, so these also give Brighton a reason to be confident about their chances here at the OPAP Arena on Thursday night.

AEK Athens v Brighton Verdict

AEK have struggled on the Europa League stage in recent times so Brighton will be keen to avenge their earlier defeat on Greek soil on matchday 5.

Therefore, our main bet will be Brighton win @ 1.85

Other side bets worth considering:

Brighton win & Over 2.5 goals @ 2.75

Correct Score: Brighton 2-1 @ 8.50