EPL game reviews – 2026-01-20

Premier League Matchday Review: Bournemouth vs Brighton

It was a tight night of Premier League action as Bournemouth and Brighton battled to a 1–1 draw in a match that ebbed and flowed between clinical finishing and missed opportunities. With both sides trading blows on the scoreboard and racking up corners, punters would’ve had plenty to sweat over across goal, shots and set-piece markets.

Using the official match stats and player records, this review breaks down the final score, the key performers, and the numbers that mattered most for anyone tracking their bets or planning for the next round of EPL odds.

Bournemouth vs Brighton: Stalemate on the South Coast

The only game on the slate finished as a 1–1 draw, with both Bournemouth (away) and Brighton (home) finding the net once over the 90 minutes. The scoring pattern tells the story of a game of two halves:

Half-time score: Bournemouth 1–0 Brighton (1st half standard metric: away 1, home 0)
Full-time score: Bournemouth 1–1 Brighton (full time standard metric: home 1, away 1)
Second half score: Brighton 1–0 Bournemouth (2nd half standard metric: home 1, away 0)

Bournemouth struck first and carried that advantage into the sheds, but Brighton responded after the break to square things up. From a neutral’s perspective it was a fair result; from a betting angle, anyone on both-teams-to-score or draw markets would have been happy enough.

Goals, Assists and Scoring Contributions

From the player goal metrics, only two players got on the scoresheet:

Charalampos Kostoulas (Brighton, home) – 1 goal
Marcus Tavernier (Bournemouth, away) – 1 goal

No other player registered a goal, and interestingly, the assist column was almost completely blank. The only assist recorded all game was:

Jan Paul van Hecke (Brighton) – 1 assist

That means:

Kostoulas’ goal was set up by van Hecke, giving the defender a clean scoring contribution via assist.
Tavernier’s goal did not have a credited assist in the stats, so it’s recorded as an unassisted strike.

Looking at the combined “score or assist” market, only three players landed a contribution:

Charalampos Kostoulas (Brighton) – 1 (from his goal)
Jan Paul van Hecke (Brighton) – 1 (from his assist)
Marcus Tavernier (Bournemouth) – 1 (from his goal)

Everyone else in that category finished on zero, including attacking names like Kaoru Mitoma, Danny Welbeck, Georginio Rutter and Evanilson. So if you were on a “to score or assist” multi, those three were the only ones to get you to the window.

Shots and Shots on Target: Who Was Lively in Front of Goal?

Despite only two goals being scored, there was a decent spread of shots across both line-ups. Based on the “player shots” metric:

Brighton shot-takers (home):
- Jan Paul van Hecke – 1 shot
- Lewis Dunk – 1 shot
- Ferdi Kadıoğlu – 1 shot
- Jack Hinshelwood – 1 shot
- Brajan Gruda – 1 shot
- Kaoru Mitoma – 1 shot
- Georginio Rutter – 1 shot
- Yankuba Minteh – 1 shot
- Charalampos Kostoulas – 1 shot
- Olivier Boscagli – 1 shot
Bournemouth shot-takers (away):
- Álex Jiménez – 1 shot
- Marcus Tavernier – 2 shots
- Evanilson – 4 shots

Every other outfield player in the database is recorded with 0 shots. That tells us a few key things for shot-based punters:

Evanilson was the most trigger-happy on the pitch with 4 attempts, but he didn’t register a goal or assist.
Marcus Tavernier turned 2 shots into 1 goal and 1 shot on target, a strong return from limited volume.
Charalampos Kostoulas was extremely efficient – 1 shot, 1 shot on target, 1 goal.

On the “player shots on target” stats, the list tightens right up:

Brighton shots on target:
- Ferdi Kadıoğlu – 1 SOT
- Jack Hinshelwood – 1 SOT
- Brajan Gruda – 1 SOT
- Yankuba Minteh – 1 SOT
- Charalampos Kostoulas – 1 SOT
Bournemouth shots on target:
- Marcus Tavernier – 1 SOT
- Evanilson – 1 SOT

Nobody else recorded a shot on target, including a number of Brighton players who did have shots but couldn’t test the keeper – such as Lewis Dunk, Jan Paul van Hecke and Mitoma.

For anyone following player prop markets like “1+ shot on target”:

Brighton offered plenty of mid-priced attacking options – Gruda, Hinshelwood, Minteh and Kostoulas all getting on target once.
On Bournemouth’s side, it was mainly Tavernier and Evanilson providing the threat.

Corner Count: Brighton on Top From Dead Balls

Corners are often a goldmine for niche betting markets, and this match produced a healthy total. From the “corners” metrics:

Full-time corners: Brighton 11 – 6 Bournemouth
First half corners: Brighton 3 – 4 Bournemouth
Second half corners: Brighton 8 – 2 Bournemouth

Bournemouth actually edged the corner battle in the first half, 4–3, which lines up with them getting in front on the scoreboard early and pushing Brighton back at times. After the break, though, the game flipped:

Brighton won 8 corners to Bournemouth’s 2 in the second half.
That dominance in corner volume reflects Brighton’s territorial pressure as they chased and eventually found the equaliser.

From a betting angle:

Over total corners would have been in play with 17 corners across the match.
Brighton corner handicaps, particularly in the second half, would have landed comfortably.

How the Match Flowed

While the dataset doesn’t include timestamps for each goal, the period-by-period scorelines give a clear picture of how the game played out:

First half: Bournemouth went into the break 1–0 up, thanks to Marcus Tavernier’s goal and a more efficient use of their limited chances. They led on corners 4–3, suggesting they weren’t just parking the bus.
Second half: Brighton raised their intensity, generating more corners (8–2) and more attacking moments. Charalampos Kostoulas grabbed the vital equaliser, set up by Jan Paul van Hecke, to level the match.

The underlying numbers point to Brighton having the better of the territory and pressure overall – especially after half-time – but Bournemouth stayed organised enough defensively to hang on for a point.

Key Player Performances

Brighton

Charalampos Kostoulas – The standout for Brighton on the scoreboard: 1 goal, 1 shot, 1 shot on target, and a registered “score or assist” contribution. Clinical and decisive.
Jan Paul van Hecke – Logged 1 assist, 1 shot, and a “score or assist” contribution of 1. For a defender, that’s a strong offensive output.
Ferdi Kadıoğlu, Jack Hinshelwood, Brajan Gruda, Yankuba Minteh – All produced 1 shot and 1 shot on target, showing Brighton had multiple threats chipping in rather than relying on a single forward.
Kaoru Mitoma – Recorded 1 shot but none on target, and no goal or assist. Active but not statistically decisive on this occasion.
Lewis Dunk & Olivier Boscagli – Each finished with 1 shot but no goal, a typical by-product of set-piece involvement from central defenders.

Bournemouth

Marcus Tavernier – Bournemouth’s attacking leader on the night statistically: 2 shots, 1 shot on target, 1 goal, and a “score or assist” contribution of 1. He was the difference-maker in the first half.
Evanilson – A fascinating case for shot-based markets: 4 shots and 1 on target, but 0 goals and 0 assists. High volume without the final product will be one to watch if you’re backing him in future shot props.
Álex Jiménez – Chipped in with 1 shot, though none on target, suggesting a willingness to join in attack from wider areas.

Goalkeepers and Defensive Records

Neither ‘keeper – Bart Verbruggen for Brighton and Đorđe Petrović for Bournemouth – appears in the stats with any offensive contribution, as you’d expect:

0 shots
0 shots on target
0 goals
0 assists
0 “score or assist” contributions

The match finished 1–1, so both conceded a single goal. While we don’t have save counts or xG in this dataset, the total number of shots on target (7 across both sides) suggests they were kept reasonably busy throughout the 90.

What It All Means for Bettors

From a wagering and odds-comparison perspective, this match offered a little bit of everything:

Match result markets: The draw landed, with a clear “game of two halves” pattern – Bournemouth first-half, Brighton second-half. Halftime/fulltime combos like Bournemouth/Draw or Bournemouth/Brighton would have been on the radar.
Both Teams to Score (BTTS): Landed with a 1–1 final score, ideal for BTTS backers and low-goal overs such as over 1.5 goals.
Player goal/assist props: Only three players turned up in the “score or assist” stats – Kostoulas, van Hecke and Tavernier. Anyone backing the bigger attacking names might have come up empty.
Shots & shots on target: Evanilson was a shots machine (4 total), while Brighton spread their on-target output across several players. Single-player shot lines and multi-legs around 1+ or 2+ shots were certainly in play.
Corner markets: With 17 corners overall and Brighton dominating in the second half (8–2), overs and Brighton corner handicaps were strong angles.

The numbers also underline how important it is to look deeper than just the final score. Brighton’s second-half surge in corners and the spread of their shot generation suggest they may offer value in future matches, especially for prop markets, even if they’re not smashing teams on the scoreboard.

Conclusion: Tight Scoreline, Plenty of Angles

Across today’s action we had just the one Premier League clash, but Bournemouth vs Brighton still delivered plenty for fans and punters to chew on. A 1–1 draw, goals to Marcus Tavernier and Charalampos Kostoulas, and a heavy corner count all contributed to a match that rewarded those who dug into the underlying stats rather than just backing obvious goal scorers.

Brighton’s second-half dominance in corners and attacking pressure, Bournemouth’s early edge and Tavernier’s clinical finishing, and Evanilson’s high-volume shooting all highlight how much information is sitting underneath the headline result.

If you’re serious about finding value in the Premier League, it pays to line up performances like these with the best prices available across Aussie bookmakers. Before you lock in your next bet, jump onto our odds comparison tool, stack the markets side by side, and make sure you’re getting the sharpest odds on match results, player props and corners. The stats are there – use them, compare the prices, and give yourself the best shot at coming out in front next time the EPL rolls around.