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It’s interesting times in Falmer as fans at the Amex Stadium have enjoyed a strong start to the season by Brighton. The Seagulls were expected to struggle this term with major betting firms pricing them as one of the favourites in the relegation race.

So far Graham Potter’s side have been performing above expectations and looking more than capable of holding their own in the second half of the season. Will Brighton beat off the dreaded drop and save their place in the top-flight of English football? That remains to be seen but the club have certainly given themselves a fighting chance, thanks to their decent start.

Brighton record big win over Arsenal

With 16 games on the board, Brighton show stats of five wins, four draws and seven defeats, 20 goals scored and 24 conceded. They occupy 12th place in the table, just three points behind Sheffield United in eighth and two wins off Man Utd in fifth. However, there may be trouble ahead although Southampton are the highest of the three teams in the relegation zone with 15 points. Brighton are only four points ahead, so there will be no back slapping or congratulating in Falmer this Christmas.

With the club losing three consecutive games recently and looking to be heading in the wrong direction, until Decembers win a stunning 2-1 win over Arsenal in London. The surprise result thanks to goals from Adam Webster and Neal Maupay, scored either side of a reply from Alexandre Lacazette in his 100th appearance for the club.

The form of attacker Maupay has been a source of real encouragement for the fans in recent times as the 23-year-old Frenchman has hit the net twice in the first two games in December. He is a strong player and a man capable of pushing his employers up through the ranks after getting the boost from Graham Potter recently. The gaffer took to the media recently to praise his ‘fantastic’ striker Maupay on the back of a hard-earned point at home to a capable Wolves side.

Maupay leads the scoring charts

The stats prove Potter is right to praise Maupay, he has been creating chances and sitting third in the overall Premier League shots table. 49 attempts at goal leaves him tied with Raul Jimenez in second with Marcus Rashford of Man Utd leading with 51

The stats show if Maupay continues to create goal opportunities he could carry his team to safety. He is ranked joint second in shots but only has six goals. Neal is the club’s leading goal scorer, hitting the target with 52% of his attempts to date. He is closely followed by Aaron Connolly who has three goals and a 62% accuracy rate. Lewis Dunk can be found in third place, boasting two goals so far this season.

What have traders made of Maupay and Brighton’s chances of avoiding the drop? On closer inspection, it becomes apparent that many high rated football betting apps have improved the team's relegation avoiding rates. Maupay is as big as 250/1 with Betfair to finish as the Premier League’s top goal scorer this season, although lovers of the value may fancy an each-way play with place terms of 1/4 the odds 1-2-3.

Brighton’s odds in the relegation betting have eased to 10/1 with Betfair after picking up four of the last six points available to them. Will the club continue to improve? The 5/2 offered by Bet Victor about a top 10 finish is market best price, better than the 7/4 trading at most other firms.

Results between now and New Year’s Day will give us an idea of the direction Brighton are headed. They next face a trip to London where Crystal Palace await on Monday 16 December before hosting an ambitious Sheffield United five days later. Brighton are then back in the big smoke to play Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham, rounding off the year on 28th December with a home tie against Bournemouth.

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