Albion will need home comforts to seal Premier League survival.

Surprise home wins for the other promoted clubs Huddersfield, against Bournemouth, and particularly Newcastle over Manchester United on Sunday have highlighted how important the Amex is going to be for the Seagulls.

Their next three games are at headquarters, including Saturday's FA Cup tie against Coventry.

In fact, four of their next five PL fixtures are likely to be at home, with the trip to Manchester City next month vulnerable to a Cup-induced rearrangement.

Every match in the top flight - home or away - is tough for a promoted side but Swansea, Huddersfield, Leicester and, yes, Arsenal, are all winnable.

Much has been made of the failure so far to take any points from the 'Big Six'.

Arsenal's visit early next month, after yet another six-pointer against revitalised Swansea, represents the best chance of changing that statistic for two reasons.

The Gunners have been suspect away from the Emirates. Stoke, Watford and Swansea have all beaten them on home soil. Southampton, West Ham and West Brom all drew.

The visit to the Amex (below) also falls, obligingly, at the end of a hectic and draining period for Arsene Wenger's side.

The Argus: On February 22 they host Ostersund in the second leg in the last 32 of the Europa League.

Three days later they face Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley. Four days after that - and three days before the clash with Albion - they play Pep's runaway leaders again at home in the Premier League.

That is a severe schedule which coincides with an eight-day preparation for Albion after the Swansea game.

The Seagulls have demonstrated in successive away draws at Southampton and Stoke that they are quite capable of adding to the points tally on their travels.

Realistic opportunities to do so remain at Everton, Crystal Palace and Burnley, less so at the Etihad or Anfield on the last day.

The three or four victories they will require to remain outside the bottom three are far more likely to be achieved at the Amex.

The same can be said of every club involved in the most congested and unpredictable scrap for survival in memory, five points dividing Southampton in the relegation zone from Bournemouth in tenth.

They have all taken anything between two (Watford) and 13 (Stoke) more points at home than away.

Along with Albion's record to date against the top six, much has also been made of their tough finish, with visits from Spurs and Manchester United and that final day journey to Liverpool falling in the last four matches.

That might, compared to others, just work in their favour. The title 'race' is already over and the fight to finish in the top four could be done and dusted by then as well.

In any case, looking at the 11 matches left as a whole, some of the relegation rivals have a more demanding task than Albion.

The prospects of taking anything from one of the top six differs hugely depending on whether you are playing them at home or away.

The big guns collectively have dropped 40 points visiting teams involved in the battle to beat the drop.

When they are at home the figure falls off a cliff to 13 points - three home draws for Spurs, one for Liverpool, one for Manchester United and Bournemouth's recent victory at Chelsea (below).

The Argus: So it is not just about how many of the top teams you still have to play, it is also about whether you are playing them at home or away.

Albion have five in total, three at home and two away. That is the most with West Ham, who have two at home and three away.

Watford have four, significantly all away. Huddersfield also have four, three of them away.

In this respect, rock-bottom West Brom and Southampton have it the easiest, with two out of three matches at home.

Nothing is certain in the crazy relegation race but it would be extraordinary if teams involved suddenly started beating the top sides on their own patch. This should be taken into consideration by Albion fans fretting over the difficulty of the games which will determine their fate.

Others are not so much in the same boat as one leaking a lot more water.

With a strengthened strike force and good form, both results and performance wise, Albion can approach the challenges ahead quietly confident it is well within their capabilities to finish the job.