Forest Green Rovers vs Brighton & Hove Albion Match Analysis and Prediction

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Forest Green Rovers play host to Brighton & Hove Albion in the second round of the EFL cup on Wednesday.

The hosts earned promotion to the third tier of English football for the first ever time last season, while Brighton are competing in the Premier League for a sixth consecutive season.

Following their 2-1 victory away to fellow newly-promoted side Bristol Rover on the opening day of the season, Forest Green have since found life in League One much tougher to deal with.

Their 1-1 draw away to Lincoln City has been sandwiched by two home defeats against Ipswich Town and Plymouth Argyle, two sides expected to be competing at the very top end of the table this season.

However, Ian Burchnall will be reminding his side that their current place in 20th is arguably a false one given that they have a game in hand on the rest of the division – except Accrington Stanley – and would also be a perfectly acceptable finish come the end of the season.

Meanwhile, Brighton have made an impressive start to the season with seven points from their opening three league matches showing they are ready to take the next step under Graham Potter.

Potter has taken his side from strength to strength since replacing Chris Hughton three years ago, transforming their playing style into a more progressive one while gradually improving results as well.

Scoring goals can at times remain a problem for Brighton, as last weekend’s goalless draw against Newcastle United demonstrated, having dominated almost the entirety of the match with seven shots on target compared to their opponents’ one.

However, they appear to carry a heavy punch away from home, having scored twice at both Old Trafford and the London Stadium already this season, so Potter will want that trend to continue at Forest Green Rovers.

Forest Green Rovers vs Brighton & Hove Albion head to head

The two teams have not previously met on any competition and this will be their first meeting in the second round of the EFL Cup.

Forest Green Rovers latest home form

Forest Green have recently failed to keep a good run of form at home, having won just one of their five most recent matches. They lost 3-0 to Plymouth Argyle in their last home game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored five goals and conceded nine.

Forest Green Rovers 1-3 Harrogate Town 30/04/22

Forest Green Rovers 1-1 Newport County 23/07/22

Forest Green Rovers 1-2 Ipwisch Town 06/08/22

Forest Green Rovers 2-0 Leyton Orient 09/08/22

Forest Green Rovers 0-3 Plymouth Argyle 20/08/22

Forest Green Rovers latest away form

Forest Green have recently failed to keep a good run of form on the road, having won just two of their seven most recent matches. They drew 1-1 with Lincoln City in their last away game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored six goals and conceded seven.

Coventry City 1-0 Forest Green Rovers 12/07/22

Swindon Supermarine 1-2 Forest Green Rovers 16/07/22

Bristol City 3-1 Forest Green Rovers 19/07/22

Bristol Rovers 1-2 Forest Green Rovers 30/07/22

Lincoln City 1-1 Forest Green Rovers 13/08/22

Brighton & Hove Albion latest home form

Brighton have recently been on a relatively good run of form at home, having lost just one of their eight most recent matches. They played out a goalless draw with Newcastle in their last home game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored eight goals and conceded three.

Brighton & Hove Albion 3-1 West Ham United 22/05/22

Brighton & Hove Albion 0-0 Union Saint-Gilloise 09/07/22

Brighton & Hove Albion 0-1 Brentford 26/07/22

Brighton & Hove Albion 5-1 Espanyol 30/07/22

Brighton & Hove Albion 0-0 Newcastle United 13/08/22

Brighton & Hove Albion latest away form

Brighton have recently been on a good run of form on the road, having been unbeaten in their six most recent matches. They managed to defeat West Ham United 2-0 in their last away game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored 11 goals and conceded four.

Leeds United 1-1 Brighton & Hove Albion 15/05/22

Estoril 1-4 Brighton & Hove Albion 16/07/22

Reading 1-2 Brighton & Hove Albion 23/07/22

Manchester United 1-2 Brighton & Hove Albion 07/08/22

West Ham United 0-2 Brighton & Hove Albion 21/08/22

Forest Green Rovers news

Head coach Ian Burchnall picked up a strong team in the previous round againsy Leyton Orient and will almost certainly do so again with his team looking to cause an upset.

Armani Little is not a regular starter in the league but he should be handed the nod here after bagging a brace against The O’s.

Brighton & Hove Albion news

Brighton’s new signing Pervis Estupinan could make his full debut for the club having come off the bench against West Ham on Sunday.

Neal Maupay could lead the line despite significant interest in the forward from elsewhere, while Jakub Moder remains sidelined for several months due to an ACL injury.

Predicition and Odds

Despite Burchnall likely to change almost their entire starting XI, we expect Brighton & Hove Albion to have too much quality for their opponents.

This is unlikely to be a goal-fest, especially with the visitors potentailly taking their foot of the gas if they can get the job done early on in the game.

Odds: 1 2.32 X 2.10 2 1.92