Brighton v AEK Athens

Brighton vs AEK Athens Preview

Brighton & Hove Albion will make club football history when they embark upon this upcoming Europa League campaign starting with this Group B clash at home against Greek visitors, AEK Athens, when the two teams face off at the AMEX Stadium on Thursday night as the south coast hosts have never played in any European competition before.

Brighton have started out of the blocks in impressive fashion on the domestic front as The Seagulls have registered four wins in their opening five games in this season's Premier League as Roberto de Zerbi's side have collected early wins against the likes of Luton Town, Wolves, Newcastle United and Manchester United respectively, the latter being a particularly impressive 3-1 win at Old Trafford.

Brighton's only slip-up so far in the English top flight was a 3-1 defeat at home to West Ham but the south coast club have responded in positive fashion by winning their last two league matches on the trot.

Interestingly, each of Brighton's five league games this season have all resulted in Over 2.5 goals with the hosts scoring a total of 15 goals, so the goals market looks a decent option for this upcoming clash on Thursday night.

AEK Athens started their European campaign this season in the early qualifying rounds of the Champions League where the Greek side recorded a 4-3 win on aggregate against Croatian outfit, Dinamo Zagreb, but the visitors were then handed a 3-1 loss on aggregate by Belgian club, Antwerp, which resulted in AEK dropping down into the Europa League.

Wins have actually dried up for AEK Athens in recent times following their 2-1 win away from home in the 1st leg tie at Dinamo Zagreb as the visitors have since managed to capture just one further victory in their subsequent six matches in all competitions.

That success came in the shape of a 3-2 win away from home at Volos in the Greek Super League but home and away losses to Antwerp suggest this upcoming trip to face in-form Premier League side, Brighton, may be a bridge too far for Matias Almeyda's side, despite possessing vast experience at Europa League level compared to Brighton.

AEK Athens have lost five of their last six ties in this competition which includes home and away losses to then Premier League side, Leicester City, so this looks like being a potentially difficult task for the Greek visitors on Thursday night.

Brighton v AEK Athens Verdict

Unsurprisingly, Brighton and AEK Athens have never met before in any competition but Brighton have raised more than a few eyebrows over the past season and in recent times in the Premier League as they continue their upward trajectory under de Zerbi and the hosts should at least contribute to the goal-tally here.

Therefore, our main bet will be Over 2.5 goals @ 1.61

Other side bets worth considering:

Brighton win & Over 2.5 goals @ 1.83

Correct score: Brighton 3-1 @ 11.00