Two top-half teams in the Premier League go head-to-head at Craven Cottage on Thursday night as Fulham play host to Brighton & Hove Albion.

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Just over a week after suffering a heavy 4-1 home defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers, Fulham salvaged a point in a 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur in North London last weekend that ended in eventful fashion for captain Tom Cairney.

The midfielder cancelled out Brennan Johnson's opener when he lashed home a brilliant leveller, before being sent off for a late challenge with seven minutes remaining. However, Spurs had no answer to the Cottagers' rearguard resolve with 10 men and were forced to share the spoils.

Marco Silva was left frustrated after the match as he insisted that his Fulham side "deserved to win" against Spurs. A draw means that they have slipped to 10th in the Premier League table, level on points with three other teams around them, while they are just four points behind Thursday's opponents Brighton in fourth.

Fulham have enjoyed facing Brighton in the Premier League, as they have won four and drawn four of their last eight meetings in the top flight, winning their last two on home soil by an aggregate score of 5-1; only against Norwich City (also eight) have they faced an opponent as many times without losing in the division.

However, success in midweek fixtures has been hard to come by, as they have only won one of their last six league games (D1 L4) played on either Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, having previously won their first four such matches following their return to the top flight in 2022.

After securing maximum points in back-to-back 2-1 victories over Manchester City and Bournemouth, Brighton were fancied by many to win a third successive Premier League game at home to basement club Southampton last Friday.

However, Kaoru Mitoma's first-half opener was cancelled out by Flynn Downes just before the hour mark, and the points were eventually shared in a 1-1 draw, as a goal from Cameron Archer was ruled out after Adam Armstrong was deemed to have been interfering with play by VAR.

Fabian Hurzeler admitted after the match that his Brighton side "only deserved a draw" - their fourth of the season at the Amex - as they lacked intensity and a clinical edge in the final third, with only five of their 22 shots registered on target.

Nevertheless, Brighton ended the day inside the top two of the Premier League for the first time in their history, and have since moved back down to fourth spot, level on points with Man City in fifth and just two points behind Arsenal in second place.

Before concluding 2024 with fixtures against Leicester City, West Ham United and Aston Villa, Brighton travel to Craven Cottage where they have failed to win any of their last four visits (D1 L3), while they have also failed to come out on top in any of their last nine away league matches in London, last having a longer winless streak in the capital between 1961 and 1967 (10).

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