Thanks for joining us on the live blog today and celebrating another big three points with us! Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and we look forward to joining you again for our Boxing Day clash with Tottenham Hotspurs at Wembley Stadium.
The referee blows the whistle and we end the game with a 2-0 win! Brilliant performance from Bournemouth, David Brooks in particular, as we bring in the Christmas cheer! Happy holidays!
90'
Final change for the Cherries
Man of the Match David Brooks comes off to a standing ovation to the thousands of Bournemouth fans singing his name! What a game he had. Jordon Ibe comes on in the final minutes.
2'+0'
I thought only owls could do that!
85'
Just over from Kingy!
We're looking comfortable and confident with five minutes remaining as King shoots from distance. His shot goes over and he's replaced by Lys Mousset but he's been pivotal to our attack tonight!
81'
Daniels has a go!
It's all Bournemouth now! That second goal is just what we needed! Daniels has a go from distance but sees his low drive caught by Ryan.
80'
A familiar face enters the field
Glenn Murray comes on for Brighton in their final change to replace Andone.
77'
How did he do that!?
A delightful cross from Fraser is placed right on Brooks' head, but the Welshman had so much to do to swivel his neck round and somehow flick it above and beyond Mat Ryan in the far corner! Physics-defying!
77'
GOALL!!!!!!!
Unbelievable David Brooks!!!
76'
Another change for Brighton
Chris Hughton introduces Gaetan Bong to replace Pascal Gross. It's a peculiar substitution as Gross had had an involvement in much of what Brighton were doing well going forward.
73'
Dunk sent off
Lewis Dunk is given a second yellow card for a reckless tackle on Callum Wilson.
69'
Change for Brighton
Anthony Knockaert replaces Jurgen Locadia for Brighton's first substitution.
68'
Holding on...
Great support from the Bournemouth fans at the moment as we're protecting the slim lead while looking for an insurance goal! Begovic has been superb!
65'
First change for the Cherries
Junior Stanislas makes way as Ryan Fraser comes on to provide some fresh legs in search of that all-important second goal. Come on wee-man!
64'
Just wide from Stanislas!
Junior Stanislas' free kick looked like it had all the bend and dip on it needed for the top right corner of the goal, but it just didn't curl in quickly enough.
62'
Booking for Dunk
Bournemouth break quickly on the counter through David Brooks, but Dunk brings him down illegally to nullify the threat. The Brighton centre-back sees yellow for his foul and sets up a free-kick for the Cherries.
54'
Good start to the half from us!
A David Brooks corner causes a bit of a scramble among the Brighton defence but the away side clear the danger. We're looking good so far in this second half though!
48'
Early chance for Brighton
Andone gets his head on a Gross cross from the right wing but Begovic catches and lands on the ball to continue the second half much as he ended the first!
46'
Back out for the second half
We're back underway with a 1-0 lead to protect!
HT
Plenty left to do...
Brighton are far from out of this game and a one goal lead is never comfortable, but Brooks' brilliant strike sends us into the half-time break just about on top!
44'
Another great save from Begovic!
Brighton get a good chance to equalise just before half-time as Gross' deep cross is headed toward the bottom corner by Dunk who connected well. As ever in this first half, Begovic had the answer with a great low save to tip the ball round the post!
35'
Getting into our groove
Brighton began the game posing a string of problems for us to deal with, but we've begun to control the pace of the game more since our goal and the crowd are in full voice supporting the lads!
1'+0'
A gorgeous opening strike!
30'
Lerma goes into the book
Brighton break on the counter from a Bournemouth corner but the move is ended with a foul from Jefferson Lerma who sees yellow.
20'
What a way to take the lead!
King found Brooks who, with plenty of time and space, attacked the Brighton defence and let fly with a rocket of a left-footed strike into the bottom right corner past Mat Ryan's reach. Beautiful finish to put us 1-0 up!
20'
GOOOOALL!!!!
What a hit from David Brooks!
19'
Begovic gets down well
March cuts inside and plays the ball to Locadia just outside the box. He drills a shot to the bottom right corner but Begovic gets down well to push it round the post for a corner.
16'
Dangerous from the Cherries!
Lerma got us going with an incisive ball to Brooks just outside the D. He poked it through to Wilson whose cross was cleared, before King's cross met the same outcome! Close!
14'
Wilson flicks it wide
Surman found Francis in acres of space on the right wing as we bombed forward. Franno sent a good cross in first-time but Wilson couldn't get enough on his header to prevent it trickling wide for a goal-kick. End-to-end, this!
13'
Over from March
Solly March stands over a free-kick in a good position for Brighton and goes for the curler with his left foot, but fortunately for us it sailed over the bar.
10'
Big save Begovic!
Bissouma plays a neat one-two with Gross inside Bournemouth's box. Begovic closes the angle and saves with his knee to clear the danger and put Bissouma's shot out for a corner. The away side are looking dangerous.
05'
Chance for Brighton
Yves Bissouma has a go from distance. The Cherries had thwarted a dangerous Brighton counter-attack, forcing Bissouma to have a go from range but his strike went over.
03'
Early sighter for Stanislas
Junior Stanislas stands over a free kick but, presented with our first shot of the game, it goes over the bar from a narrow angle.
01'
Off we go!
The pre-match warm ups and routines are taken care of and there's plenty of noise inside Vitality Stadium as we attack the Vitality Steve Fletcher stand in the first half.
Come on Bournemouth!
14:53
Come on Cherries!
Another big Premier League game is just moments away from kicking off. Let's hope it's Eddie Howe's side giving out the gifts this Christmas!
14:50
Tune in...
Don't forget we'll be bringing you completely FREE live audio commentary from Vitality Stadium for this afternoon's game.
If you can't watch the game, make sure you tune in and Kris Temple and Willo will talk you through the events as they happen. To listen, just login to afcbTV for free!
14:40
One to watch
Solomon March has been key to Brighton's success going forward so far this season. The Eastbourne-born midfielder has five assists to his name in the campaign and scored his first goal of the season in Brighton's 2-1 defeat to Chelsea last weekend.
Hopefully that form doesn't continue today!
14:25
Head-to-head
Our record against Brighton bodes well for today's game, as we are unbeaten in the last nine meetings with them in all competitions!
We've won five of those nine games and shared four draws. Last season, we had two wins against Brighton here at Vitality Stadium - one in the league and one in the EFL Cup!
14:17
Strong at the back
Brighton have proved to be defensively resolute this season, never conceding more than three goals against any opponent in the league.
They've shipped 24 goals so far this season, fewer than three of the four teams above them in the league.
We'll have to be at our best to break-through that back-line today!
14:11
Callum enjoying today's programme!
Callum Wilson is the cover star for this afternoon's Matchday programme, and he looks rather chuffed about it! Also included in the 100-pages (plus 16-page Junior Cherries pullout)...
- Sylvain Distin discusses his spell with the Cherries - Former Brighton player Steve Sidwell tells us how the club has prospered in the Premier League - Eddie Howe, Jeff Mostyn, and Simon Francis all give their thoughts on recent matches in their programme notes
And much more, including another batch of stickers for the sticker album! Matchday Issue 10 is available around the ground for £3.50 ahead of kick-off.
Jefferson Lerma also returns, while Callum Wilson is paired with Joshua King up front. It looks like a traditional 4-4-2 formation, but we guess King could slot into the number 10 role behind Wilson.
Cherries XI: Begovic; Francis (C), S Cook, Ake, Daniels; Brooks, Lerma, Surman, Stanislas; Wilson, King.
13:45
Injury news...
Callum Wilson and Tyrone Mings are fit for today's game as the pair recovered from minor injuries ahead of the weekend.
Simon Francis is unlikely to feature, Eddie Howe confirmed during yesterday's press conference, as he hasn't trained this week.
As for Brighton, Shane Duffy is still serving a three-match ban, while Jose Izquierdo and Alireza Jahanbakhsh are sidelined through injury.
Full team news will be announced at 2pm.
13:38
Mostyn's Christmas message!
Christmases come and go, but our one constant is you guys! ❤️🖤
December has been a mixed month for Brighton, who kicked off the festivities with wins against Huddersfield Town and Crystal Palace at the start of the month.
Those results were followed by consecutive defeats to Burnley and Chelsea, but Albion have only conceded four goals across the highlighted fixtures while scoring six.
13:23
Hoping to get back to winning ways
We go into this game following a difficult run in the league - we've played four of the top six in the last six games! Despite recent results, we remain within touching distance of sixth place ahead of this afternoon's fixture.
Our performance against Chelsea in midweek, in which we were unfortunate to come away with a 1-0 defeat in the Carabao Cup, offers plenty of encouragement that we can get another three points today!
12:50
Welcome!
Welcome to the live blog for today's Premier League match against Brighton & Hove Albion. It's our final game before Christmas so we're hoping to bring you plenty of festive cheer from Vitality Stadium this afternoon.
Kick-off is at 3pm and you'll be able to follow the live blog up to and during the match for all the updates!
Commentary By @unknown
Thanks for following!
Thanks for joining us on the live blog today and celebrating another big three points with us! Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and we look forward to joining you again for our Boxing Day clash with Tottenham Hotspurs at Wembley Stadium.
A message from the man of the moment!
We get back to winning ways!
The referee blows the whistle and we end the game with a 2-0 win! Brilliant performance from Bournemouth, David Brooks in particular, as we bring in the Christmas cheer! Happy holidays!
Final change for the Cherries
Man of the Match David Brooks comes off to a standing ovation to the thousands of Bournemouth fans singing his name! What a game he had. Jordon Ibe comes on in the final minutes.
I thought only owls could do that!
Just over from Kingy!
We're looking comfortable and confident with five minutes remaining as King shoots from distance. His shot goes over and he's replaced by Lys Mousset but he's been pivotal to our attack tonight!
Daniels has a go!
It's all Bournemouth now! That second goal is just what we needed! Daniels has a go from distance but sees his low drive caught by Ryan.
A familiar face enters the field
Glenn Murray comes on for Brighton in their final change to replace Andone.
How did he do that!?
A delightful cross from Fraser is placed right on Brooks' head, but the Welshman had so much to do to swivel his neck round and somehow flick it above and beyond Mat Ryan in the far corner! Physics-defying!
GOALL!!!!!!!
Unbelievable David Brooks!!!
Another change for Brighton
Chris Hughton introduces Gaetan Bong to replace Pascal Gross. It's a peculiar substitution as Gross had had an involvement in much of what Brighton were doing well going forward.
Dunk sent off
Lewis Dunk is given a second yellow card for a reckless tackle on Callum Wilson.
Change for Brighton
Anthony Knockaert replaces Jurgen Locadia for Brighton's first substitution.
Holding on...
Great support from the Bournemouth fans at the moment as we're protecting the slim lead while looking for an insurance goal! Begovic has been superb!
First change for the Cherries
Junior Stanislas makes way as Ryan Fraser comes on to provide some fresh legs in search of that all-important second goal. Come on wee-man!
Just wide from Stanislas!
Junior Stanislas' free kick looked like it had all the bend and dip on it needed for the top right corner of the goal, but it just didn't curl in quickly enough.
Booking for Dunk
Bournemouth break quickly on the counter through David Brooks, but Dunk brings him down illegally to nullify the threat. The Brighton centre-back sees yellow for his foul and sets up a free-kick for the Cherries.
Good start to the half from us!
A David Brooks corner causes a bit of a scramble among the Brighton defence but the away side clear the danger. We're looking good so far in this second half though!
Early chance for Brighton
Andone gets his head on a Gross cross from the right wing but Begovic catches and lands on the ball to continue the second half much as he ended the first!
Back out for the second half
We're back underway with a 1-0 lead to protect!Plenty left to do...
Brighton are far from out of this game and a one goal lead is never comfortable, but Brooks' brilliant strike sends us into the half-time break just about on top!
Another great save from Begovic!
Brighton get a good chance to equalise just before half-time as Gross' deep cross is headed toward the bottom corner by Dunk who connected well. As ever in this first half, Begovic had the answer with a great low save to tip the ball round the post!
Getting into our groove
Brighton began the game posing a string of problems for us to deal with, but we've begun to control the pace of the game more since our goal and the crowd are in full voice supporting the lads!
A gorgeous opening strike!
Lerma goes into the book
Brighton break on the counter from a Bournemouth corner but the move is ended with a foul from Jefferson Lerma who sees yellow.
What a way to take the lead!
King found Brooks who, with plenty of time and space, attacked the Brighton defence and let fly with a rocket of a left-footed strike into the bottom right corner past Mat Ryan's reach. Beautiful finish to put us 1-0 up!
GOOOOALL!!!!
What a hit from David Brooks!
Begovic gets down well
March cuts inside and plays the ball to Locadia just outside the box. He drills a shot to the bottom right corner but Begovic gets down well to push it round the post for a corner.
Dangerous from the Cherries!
Lerma got us going with an incisive ball to Brooks just outside the D. He poked it through to Wilson whose cross was cleared, before King's cross met the same outcome! Close!
Wilson flicks it wide
Surman found Francis in acres of space on the right wing as we bombed forward. Franno sent a good cross in first-time but Wilson couldn't get enough on his header to prevent it trickling wide for a goal-kick. End-to-end, this!Over from March
Solly March stands over a free-kick in a good position for Brighton and goes for the curler with his left foot, but fortunately for us it sailed over the bar.
Big save Begovic!
Bissouma plays a neat one-two with Gross inside Bournemouth's box. Begovic closes the angle and saves with his knee to clear the danger and put Bissouma's shot out for a corner. The away side are looking dangerous.Chance for Brighton
Yves Bissouma has a go from distance. The Cherries had thwarted a dangerous Brighton counter-attack, forcing Bissouma to have a go from range but his strike went over.
Early sighter for Stanislas
Junior Stanislas stands over a free kick but, presented with our first shot of the game, it goes over the bar from a narrow angle.
Off we go!
The pre-match warm ups and routines are taken care of and there's plenty of noise inside Vitality Stadium as we attack the Vitality Steve Fletcher stand in the first half.
Come on Bournemouth!
Come on Cherries!
Another big Premier League game is just moments away from kicking off. Let's hope it's Eddie Howe's side giving out the gifts this Christmas!
Tune in...
Don't forget we'll be bringing you completely FREE live audio commentary from Vitality Stadium for this afternoon's game.
If you can't watch the game, make sure you tune in and Kris Temple and Willo will talk you through the events as they happen. To listen, just login to afcbTV for free!
One to watch
Solomon March has been key to Brighton's success going forward so far this season. The Eastbourne-born midfielder has five assists to his name in the campaign and scored his first goal of the season in Brighton's 2-1 defeat to Chelsea last weekend.
Hopefully that form doesn't continue today!
Head-to-head
Our record against Brighton bodes well for today's game, as we are unbeaten in the last nine meetings with them in all competitions!
We've won five of those nine games and shared four draws. Last season, we had two wins against Brighton here at Vitality Stadium - one in the league and one in the EFL Cup!
Strong at the back
Brighton have proved to be defensively resolute this season, never conceding more than three goals against any opponent in the league.
They've shipped 24 goals so far this season, fewer than three of the four teams above them in the league.
We'll have to be at our best to break-through that back-line today!
Callum enjoying today's programme!
Callum Wilson is the cover star for this afternoon's Matchday programme, and he looks rather chuffed about it! Also included in the 100-pages (plus 16-page Junior Cherries pullout)...
- Sylvain Distin discusses his spell with the Cherries
- Former Brighton player Steve Sidwell tells us how the club has prospered in the Premier League
- Eddie Howe, Jeff Mostyn, and Simon Francis all give their thoughts on recent matches in their programme notes
And much more, including another batch of stickers for the sticker album! Matchday Issue 10 is available around the ground for £3.50 ahead of kick-off.
Brighton's side to face us...
Here's how we lineup!
Simon Francis is fit and in the starting lineup!
Jefferson Lerma also returns, while Callum Wilson is paired with Joshua King up front. It looks like a traditional 4-4-2 formation, but we guess King could slot into the number 10 role behind Wilson.
Cherries XI: Begovic; Francis (C), S Cook, Ake, Daniels; Brooks, Lerma, Surman, Stanislas; Wilson, King.
Injury news...
Callum Wilson and Tyrone Mings are fit for today's game as the pair recovered from minor injuries ahead of the weekend.
Simon Francis is unlikely to feature, Eddie Howe confirmed during yesterday's press conference, as he hasn't trained this week.
As for Brighton, Shane Duffy is still serving a three-match ban, while Jose Izquierdo and Alireza Jahanbakhsh are sidelined through injury.
Full team news will be announced at 2pm.
Mostyn's Christmas message!
As for the opposition
December has been a mixed month for Brighton, who kicked off the festivities with wins against Huddersfield Town and Crystal Palace at the start of the month.
Those results were followed by consecutive defeats to Burnley and Chelsea, but Albion have only conceded four goals across the highlighted fixtures while scoring six.
Hoping to get back to winning ways
We go into this game following a difficult run in the league - we've played four of the top six in the last six games! Despite recent results, we remain within touching distance of sixth place ahead of this afternoon's fixture.
Our performance against Chelsea in midweek, in which we were unfortunate to come away with a 1-0 defeat in the Carabao Cup, offers plenty of encouragement that we can get another three points today!
Welcome!
Welcome to the live blog for today's Premier League match against Brighton & Hove Albion. It's our final game before Christmas so we're hoping to bring you plenty of festive cheer from Vitality Stadium this afternoon.
Kick-off is at 3pm and you'll be able to follow the live blog up to and during the match for all the updates!
Other games that day
As it stood