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Hurzeler feels Brighton have been on wrong end of fine margins

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Fabian Hurzeler believes Brighton's recent poor run has been a matter of fine margins, as the Seagulls prepare to visit Fulham in the Premier League.

Brighton have only won one of their last nine Premier League matches, with that victory coming at home to second-bottom Burnley earlier this month.

That run has seen them slide from fifth in the table to 12th, though they did recover from 1-0 down to draw 1-1 with Bournemouth on Monday, courtesy of a stoppage-time overhead kick from Charalampos Kostoulas.

On Saturday, they go to Craven Cottage to face Fulham, who are just one point and one place above them in the table, and Hurzeler does not believe his team are far away. 

He told Sky Sports: "We need to make the small margins right and that is what we definitely have to improve. 

"We keep on working, and we need to understand that we need to bring consistency into our behaviour. That is what we will work on."

Fulham, meanwhile, saw their six-game unbeaten run in the Premier League halted by a 1-0 defeat at Leeds United last time out. Marco Silva's side have not failed to score in consecutive league matches since May 2024.

Reflecting on Fulham's lacklustre performance at Elland Road, Silva said: "We cannot perform always incredibly well, like I – and all of our fans – would like to see. 

"Normally we create more chances. I don't remember one clear chance from us in the second half – that shows that we didn't perform the way we should.

"Even on the ball, we were not aggressive enough. We didn't get on the counter-attack many times, trying to penetrate, to cross, all that stuff, I don't remember it really.

"That just shows that we were not at our level in the second half, and because of that we lost the game, and we have to move on."

MATCH PREDICTION

Fulham – Raul Jimenez

All five of Jimenez's Premier League goals this season have put Fulham ahead in the match, the highest such 100% record of any player this term.

However, the Mexican's rate of a goal every 280 minutes in the Premier League this season is his worst in a campaign since joining Fulham from Wolves in 2023 (200 mins in 2023-24 and 208 in 2024-25).

Brighton – Jan Paul van Hecke

Van Hecke registered the assist for Kostoulas' stunning overhead kick during Brighton's draw with Bournemouth.

The Greek teenager deserves all the credit for his glorious touch and finish, but nevertheless, no centre-back has more goal involvements than Van Hecke (three goals, two assists) in the Premier League this season. 

MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW

Fulham are unbeaten in all five of their Premier League home games against Brighton (W4 D1), having lost three in a row against them in the Championship beforehand.

And overall, Brighton have won just one of their 11 Premier League games against Fulham (D5 L5), their lowest win rate against any side they have faced more than twice (9%).

The Seagull's struggles at Fulham also extend to London as a whole. Brighton have won just two of their last 18 Premier League away games against London teams (D7 L9), with those victories coming at Tottenham in May last season, and Chelsea in September.

But the Opta supercomputer struggles to split the teams ahead of Saturday's match.

Brighton have avoided defeat in a league-high eight Premier League games when conceding the first goal so far this season (W3 D5), coming from behind to draw their last two games 1-1, versus Manchester City and Bournemouth.

Five of the last nine Premier League matches involving Hurzeler's men have finished level, and it would be no surprise if the spoils were shared again at Craven Cottage.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Fulham – 37.9%

Brighton – 35.7%

Draw – 26.4%