Brighton head up the road to Selhurst Park on Sunday for a fierce Premier League clash with rivals Crystal Palace, as the Seagulls look to make amends for last season’s defeats to the Eagles and leapfrog them in the table, potentially into a European spot.
Oliver Glasner’s side had the better of the Albion last season, doing the double over them with a 3-1 win at the Amex Stadium before recording a 2-1 win at home. Crystal Palace then went on to further rub salt into the wounds of their arch rivals by winning their first ever major trophies in the FA Cup and Community Shield, with their victory in the former meaning they qualified for the Conference League over the eighth-placed team, which happened to be Brighton.
The Brighton Base takes a look at the latest Seagulls team news and how Fabian Hurzeler’s side are likely to line up in Croydon…
Brighton predicted XI vs Crystal Palace (4-2-3-1)
Goalkeeper – Bart Verbruggen
The Dutch No.1 remains Hurzeler’s first choice and has started every Premier League game so far this season, and that is almost certain to remain the same following his first clean sheet of the season against Leeds last Saturday.
Defence – Matts Wieffer, Jan Paul Van Hecke, Lewis Dunk, Ferdi Kadioglu
The Seagulls have started every Premier League game this season with a centre-back partnership of Lewis Dunk and Jan Paul Van Hecke, and between them they’ve played 1800 minutes, making a combined 30 tackles, 14 blocks, 16 interceptions and winning 96 duels. The duo played a key part in last weekend’s clean sheet, and they are set to remain as the starting pair on Sunday.
Ferdi Kadioglu has been a standout over the last few weeks, playing all over the pitch, and his impressive form is likely to see him start ahead of Maxim De Cuyper at left-back once again. On the opposite side, Joel Veltman is back available, but fellow Dutchman Matts Wieffer has been Hurzeler’s go-to right-back since he joined the club in 2024, and his strong defensive displays mean that it is unlikely he will be losing his starting place anytime soon.
Midfield – Carlos Baleba, Yasin Ayari
Jack Hinshelwood and James Milner remain sidelined with their respective injuries, so Hurzeler’s hand is once again forced with limited options available in midfield. However, Carlos Baleba and Yasin Ayari have started to form a strong connection, so having limited options may be a blessing in disguise.
The Cameroonian youngster started the campaign in poor form following an injury in pre-season and links to Manchester United. But in recent weeks, he’s started to slowly get back to his best, putting in a brilliant performance against Newcastle and an equally solid display against Leeds. The 21-year-old has been inconsistent, but that hasn’t put off Hurzeler from starting him nine times this season, and that trend is likely to continue.
Next to him, Ayari has been a standout player so far this campaign, creating 0.97 expected goals and 0.49 expected assists. The Swede is proving to be a big threat in and around the box, and the Seagulls will be hoping he can bag his second goal of the season against the Eagles at the weekend.
Attack – Yankuba Minteh, Danny Welbeck, Georginio Rutter, Diego Gomez
Star winger Kaoru Mitoma is ‘very close’ to returning, but his chances of featuring this weekend were referred to by Hurzeler as being ’50-50′. Brajan Gruda also remains unavailable with a knee injury. Despite the two absentees, the Seagulls still have a plethora of attacking options in Yankuba Minteh, Tommy Watson, Danny Welbeck, Stefanos Tzimas, Georginio Rutter, Charalampos Kostoulas, Diego Gomez, and last weekend’s Premier League debutant Nehemiah Oriola.
Nevertheless, Hurzeler is likely to name an unchanged attack, and for the first time this season, a completely unchanged starting XI. Yankuba Minteh has been one of Brighton’s best players over the past few months, with his only criticism being an inconsistent final ball. His end product looked the best that it has been all season against Leeds though, and he’ll be hoping to cause problems for Crystal Palace’s backline.
On the left, Hurzeler has tested quite a few players out wide, but Gomez has now made that spot his own in the absence of Mitoma. The Paraguay international benefitted from being given the freedom to roam inside and drop deep against Leeds. His positioning and late runs into the box created acres of space, and saw him find himself in the right place at the right time to bag a brace.
Georginio Rutter had a difficult first half against his former team last weekend, and that somewhat reflected his season so far. The Frenchman improved in the second half at the Amex though, playing a neat cutback for Gomez’s second goal. He’s also developed a natural partnership with Welbeck, so Hurzeler won’t want to break that up any time soon.
Up front, Welbeck remains the first choice No.9 after scoring his sixth goal of the season against Leeds. The Englishman will be hoping to continue his scoring run and potentially receive a call-up to Thomas Tuchel’s Three Lions squad ahead of the World Cup next year.