AFC Bournemouth vs Brighton and Hove Albion at Stadion.Core.ViewModels.Matchday.LocationViewModel

AFC Bournemouth welcome Brighton & Hove Albion to Vitality Stadium on Friday night in their latest Premier League fixture.

But what can be expected from Chris Hughton’s side after they celebrated winning their first game in the top flight since 1983 last Saturday against West Bromwich Albion?

Chief sports reporter from The Argus, Andy Naylor, has been covering the Seagulls' matches since the mid-1990s.

afcb.co.uk: Following Brighton’s win at the weekend what has the mood been like around the town?

AN: You won’t be surprised to hear that morale has been very good after getting the first Premier League win in over 30 years. It was a great win over West Brom, although they didn’t win against Watford before the international break they played well there too, albeit against ten men for two thirds of the game. The trend is upward and the mood is buoyant I would say!

afcb.co.uk: Prior to that match the Seagulls had not scored any goals in the league, therefore were you surprised that they found the back of the net three times?

AN: Honestly, yes I was. I don’t even think Chris Hughton himself expected it to be honest. West Brom are notoriously difficult to break down as Bournemouth know and they are always well organised. Only three teams scored three goals or more against Pulis’ side last season, so it was impressive that the team were able to do that in one game against them.

afcb.co.uk: Pascal Gross scored two of those goals, how impressed were you with him?

AN: He was hugely influential, scoring twice and setting up the other goal with a great cross for Tomer Hemed. He was the club's first summer signing, coming from Ingolstadt, who were relegated in the Bundesliga last season. It was a real breakthrough game for him, occupying the number 10 role and Chris has adapted his system from the Championship last season, switching from a 4-4-2 to a 4-4-1-1. Gross is playing in behind the main striker, which I am sure will be Hemed on Friday night as Glenn Murray had an ankle injury which ruled him out against Watford. He came on at the weekend as a late substitute, but you would expect him to be starting on the bench against his former club.

afcb.co.uk: What else has impressed you about Brighton’s performances this season so far and last season?

AN: There has been a steely determination from the players to keep clean sheets and that was epitomised by Shane Duffy sliding in on the line to try and prevent James Morrison’s goal. That was indicative of the team’s overall fierce determination to keep a clean sheet, not just in this game, but in all four league matches so far.

afcb.co.uk: Finally, are there any players which Bournemouth should potentially look out for and be wary of on Friday night?

AN: Off the back of the win, you would obviously mention Gross and Hemed, but on both wings we also carry a big threat. Anthony Knockaert scored 15 goals in the Championship last season, the most for the club behind Glenn Murray and he made countless assists, deservedly being voted as the Championship Player of the Season. He suffered an ankle injury in pre-season and this was his first 90 minutes against West Brom, after playing 80 at Watford, so he’s back to full fitness and is an exceptional winger.

Andy writes for The Argus and you can visit their site here.

You can follow Andy on Twitter at @AndyNaylorArgus.

Craig Pawson will be the referee for AFC Bournemouth's Friday night clash with Brighton & Hove Albion.

The man in the middle has refereed 87 top fight matches so far, issuing 300 yellow cards and 15 red cards.

Two of those red cards came in the first game he refereed this season at Stamford Bridge when he sent off two Chelsea players against Burnley.

The last time he refereed the Cherries was almost a year ago, in the 0-0 draw with Tottenham Hotspur at Vitality Stadium.

He will be assisted by Richard West and Constantine Hatzidakis, with Chris Kavanagh taking the fourth official role.

AFC Bournemouth welcome Brighton & Hove Albion to Vitality Stadium for Friday night’s televised Premier League clash.

Here, afcb.co.uk assesses five key points ahead of the visit of Chris Hughton’s side.

In search of points

After an encouraging last home outing against Manchester City, Eddie Howe will be hoping to see a performance of a similar manner as his side go in search of their first Premier League points of the new season. Brighton ended their wait for a win last weekend courtesy of a 3-1 victory over West Bromwich Albion.

A game which promises goals

This will be the 105th meeting between the two sides in a fixture which has only previously played out five goalless draws. With a history dating back to 1923, the Cherries have celebrated 39 wins against the Sussex side and are unbeaten in their last six encounters. Bournemouth have only lost one of their eight games at home to the Seagulls this century as they prepare to face them in the English top flight for the first time.

Familiar faces

These two sides last met two and a half years ago during the Cherries 2014/15 Football League Championship winning season, with Howe’s side doing the league double over the Seagulls. A 2-0 win at the AMEX in April 2015 featured nine of the same Bournemouth players in the 18-man squad which featured against Arsenal just last Saturday. Players which started in both matches included Steve Cook, Charlie Daniels and Harry Arter. By comparison, of the 18 players named in Brighton’s squad that day only two were named in the squad in their win over West Brom this season.

Friday night home fixtures

The Cherries will play their first competitive game on a Friday night since January 2015. In that match the side ran out 2-0 winners against then promotion rivals Watford 2-0 courtesy of goals from Yann Kermorgant and Matt Ritchie. Howe’s side played on a Friday night five times in their title-winning season and boasted a strong record, winning four and drawing one.

Newly-promoted visitors

Bournemouth won all three of their home fixtures against newly-promoted clubs last season in the league. Relegated Hull City were the first to suffer at the hands of Howe’s side in a 6-1 win for the Cherries in October last year. Middlesbrough suffered a similar fate the following April, losing 4-0 before facing the drop. Burnley visited the south coast in the Cherries' final home game of the 2016/17 season and also left empty handed thanks to a late winner from Joshua King in a 2-1 victory.