Brighton head coach Fabian Hurzeler welcomes Matt O'Riley back to the first team squadplaceholder image
Brighton head coach Fabian Hurzeler welcomes Matt O'Riley back to the first team squad | Getty Images
Liverpool will host Brighton in the next round of the FA Cup this weekend
Brighton and Hove Albion’s manager Fabian Hurzeler has been backed ahead of their FA Cup clash with Liverpool at the weekend, despite the team’s recent run of poor results.
The Seagulls are winless in six Premier League games after their latest 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa on Wednesday. The result puts them 14th in the league table with 31 points on the board.
Questions are now being raised over Hurzeler’s position as Brighton’s head coach. However, in the midst of the dismissals of Sean Dyche from Nottingham Forest and Thomas Frank from Tottenham Hotspur, there is no threat of the Seagulls boss being axed in a knee-jerk reaction.
Brighton manager backed ahead of Liverpool clash in FA Cup
According to The Telegraph, doubt has now been cast over Hurzeler’s future but his role with the south coast club is ‘not thought to be under immediate threat’. On the contrary, the German manager ‘retains strong support’ from within Brighton.
This doesn’t rule out his long-term position being targeted, though. Brighton’s data-led approach is ‘backfiring on them’ and criticism is building from within the fanbase.
There is a ‘growing possibility’ that Hurzeler may not remain in charge of the Seagulls beyond the summer. He is said to have admirers across England and Europe and he is a ‘highly regarded’ coach by influential figures within the game.
Liverpool will welcome Brighton to Anfield for their 8pm kick-off on Saturday. The Reds will enter the clash following their 1-0 win over Sunderland in the Premier League, keeping them sixth in the table.
It was a successful outing for Arne Slot’s side but they were hit with yet another injury blow after Wataru Endo was forced off the pitch, having filled in at right-back.
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