Jack Hinshelwood of Brighton & Hove Albion battles for possession with Jeremy Doku of Manchester CityJack Hinshelwood of Brighton & Hove Albion battles for possession with Jeremy Doku of Manchester City
Jack Hinshelwood of Brighton & Hove Albion battles for possession with Jeremy Doku of Manchester City
The race for the Champions League is on for Brighton and Hove Albion and their rivals
Brighton are in the race for Champions League qualification with nine matches of the Premier League season to go.
The Seagulls are seventh in the top flight and Saturday’s 2-2 draw at Manchester City places them just two points behind fourth placed Chelsea.
The Champions League spots are expected to go down to fifth place this season with Fabian Hurzeler’s men currently one point adrift of fifth placed City.
Albion are the form team in the Premier League and have won four and drawn once in their last five league fixtures. Their next six matches will shape their season as they welcome Aston Villa to the Amex Stadium on April 2, followed by Crystal Palace (A), Leicester (H), Brentford (A), West Ham (H) and Newcastle (H).
Brighton midfielder Jack Hinshelwood said: “These last six games, the run we've been on, I think we're going into every game with plenty of confidence and belief that we can go anywhere and get a good result.
"I think it's nice to be amongst teams like Man City, but we obviously know that they also possess great quality and all the teams around us possess great quality, so we know we're going to have to be at our maximum to get anything come the end of the season.”
Albion and Premier League will now pause for the international break and Hinshelwood is eager not to lose momentum.
"We almost don't want this international break to come,” said the England under-21 midfielder. “As much as it is a pleasure to go and play for your country, the form we're in, we just want the games to continue.
"But when we come back and regroup, we need to show the same intensity and togetherness that's got us these good results.”
Here’s the latest on where Albion and the European-chasing rivals can finish: Arsenal - 1/100 from 1/50 (99% probability from 98%), Nottingham Forest - 4/7 from 6/5 (63.6% probability from 45.5%), Manchester City - 8/13 from 8/15 (61.9% probability from 65.2%), Chelsea - 5/4 from 5/6 (44.4% probability from 54.5%), Newcastle United - 9/4 (30.8% probability).
Brighton & Hove Albion – 7/1 from 9/1 (12.5% probability from 10%), Aston Villa - 25/1 from 20/1 (3.8% probability from 4.8%), Bournemouth - 25/1 from 12/1 (3.8% probability from 7.7%), Fulham - 66/1 from 100/1 (1.5% probability from 1%).