Bournemouth vs Brighton Prediction and Betting Tips: Red-hot Solanke to open the scoring on Sunday

This loosely labelled 'South Coast derby' between Bournemouth and Brighton on Sunday afternoon looks a lot more competitive in the closing stages of the season, with The Cherries' midweek win over Wolves helping push out The Seagulls from the top 10 and emerge as a slightly shorter outsider for a European place in the process.

The job Andoni Iraola continues to execute at the Vitality Stadium is worthy of its admiration, with their newfound style leaving Bournemouth just two draws away from breaking their record Premier League points total.

Meanwhile, Brighton's 2024 decline was further compounded on Thursday evening when Pep Guardiola's men hit them for four on home soil. That result now leaves them without a win in their last five and looking to break the cycle with a first away victory in seven outings.

Wednesday's 1-0 win over Wolves saw Bournemouth leapfrog their former boss' new team and justify the seemingly rash decision their board had made with regards to Gary O'Neill's position at the club last summer.

12 wins along with a further nine draws from 34 matches this season leaves The Cherries just a point away from equalling their best ever PL points tally of 46, with four more games still remaining to surpass this landmark.

Half of their victories have come at home, beating Newcastle and developing a good habit of beating teams around and below them. They've done the double over Palace both before and during Glasner's tenure, seen off Wolves at Molineux and put Fulham to the sword at this venue, in addition to noteworthy draws against Aston Villa and Chelsea at the Vitality.

They are also the team who enter with some forward momentum, having won five of their last nine and a 2-2 draw with United to boot during this run. On the flip side, Brighton, as mentioned previously, have no away win in six and are without a victory in general from any of their last five games.

Dominic Solanke has exceeded all expectations this season, netting 18 goals in 33 appearances and asserting himself as a genuine contender in the Premier League Golden Boot shootout alongside the likes of Erling Haaland, Cole Palmer, Ollie Watkins, Mohamed Salah and Phil Foden.

Not only has he pitched good recent form with four in his last seven, including goals against Villa and United, but the striker has developed a knack for finding the net before anybody else on the pitch.

10 of his 18 goals have opened the game's scoring, with this being the case for each of his last four strikes on record.

This happened in Bournemouth's 3-1 loss at the Amex at the beginning of this campaign and if Solanke brings his scoring boots once again then he can have a hand in exacting revenge over Bournemouth's coastal counterparts - an outfit who've conceded first in three of their last five games that have seen at least one goal in them.