Overview
Finishing the 2024-2025 season in eighth place and almost winning a ticket to the European Cup, coach Fabian Hurzeler and Brighton certainly expected to take another step forward. However, unstable performance throughout this season is causing them many difficulties.
After 24 rounds in the Premier League, Brighton is 13th with 31 points (7 wins, 10 draws, 7 losses). That fluctuation continues into the new year, when they only have one victory in January. This is the period when most of their matches end in a draw.
In fact, 10 draws this season is the highest number in the league, showing that Brighton is still struggling to turn the competitive game into 3 full points.
The latest draw made them even more regretful, when Beto's equalizer in the 97th minute for Everton deprived Brighton of victory in a harsh way. Therefore, returning to their home ground this weekend, the "Turtle" will definitely be more determined to find their winning streak again.
If they win their eighth victory this season, Brighton can rise to ninth place and continue to hold hopes of competing for a European cup spot as the season enters an important stage.
Meanwhile, Crystal Palace travels to the southern coast with worrying form. The positive signals they showed last season are being erased, as Oliver Glasner's team is gradually falling in the rankings and is currently closer to the relegation group than the leading group.
The departure of captain Marc Guehi, along with prolonged speculation about Glasner's future, seems to have clearly affected Palace's spirit and performance. As of the match this weekend, it has been more than 2 months since Crystal Palace last won in the Premier League.
During that time, Palace drew 2 and lost 5 at the tournament, and also received a major shock at the FA Cup when Macclesfield - an opponent 117 places behind them in the English league system at that time - unexpectedly eliminated them.
In the most recent match, Crystal Palace reversed the score to win 1 point at Nottingham Forest's home ground despite playing with more players in the second half. This result helped them have a total of 29 points, entering round 25 in 15th place and 9 points above the relegation group.
This is the second time the two sides have faced each other this season. The first leg ended in a 0-0 draw.
Personnel situation
Brighton faces another force concern ahead of the match, when Yasin Ayari suffered a shoulder injury last weekend and is definitely absent.
Long-term injuries such as Solly March, Adam Webster and Stefanos Tzimas have not yet been able to return, but Brighton welcomed good news when Diego Gomez has recovered.
In the right-back position, Ferdi Kadioglu and Joel Veltman are competing for a starting spot, and Veltman is likely to be chosen. Notably, if James Milner plays, he will equal the record for the most appearances in the Premier League, 24 years after making his league debut.
On Crystal Palace's side, Oliver Glasner's team did not have any further injury or fitness problems after the most recent match, although the Austrian coach may consider reshaping the squad in the context of declining form.
Eddie Nketiah was rumored to leave the club, but the deal collapsed after he was injured. This is also the reason why this striker could not participate in the match against Brighton.
Expected lineup:
Verbruggen, Veltman, Van Hecke, Dunk, De Cuyper, Gomez, Baleba, Gross, Rutter, Welbeck, Mitoma.
Crystal Palace: Henderson, Richards, Lacroix, Riad, Munoz, Hughes, Wharton, Mitchell, I. Sarr, Pino, Johnson.
The match between Brighton and Crystal Palace takes place at 9:00 PM on February 8th (Vietnam time).
