Roberto De Zerbi will welcome the return of key players from injury as a depleted Brighton and Hove Albion travel to Craven Cottage to face Fulham in the Premier League on Saturday. Here is Last Word on Football’s Brighton predicted lineup.
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Recent Form and Tactics
Another away day on the horizon… 👊🔜 pic.twitter.com/CgIptkURm7
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) March 1, 2024
The Seagulls were knocked out of the FA Cup by Wolverhampton Wanderers following a 1-0 defeat at Molineux Stadium on Wednesday thanks to a Mario Lemina goal in the 2nd minute of the game.
As has been the case in recent weeks, Brighton dominated the ball having 72% of possession, but failed to make this count amassing just two shots on target throughout the 90 minutes.
The injury-struck Seagulls started the game without a recognised striker, but De Zerbi would have hoped the introduction of Danny Welbeck at halftime would have had a bigger impact.
The Italian’s side nearly suffered a similar fate in their most recent league fixture as they had 65% of the ball against Everton but it was only in the 95th minute that they were able to capitalise on this, as Lewis Dunk equalised for the home side.
Dunk’s goal was the result of fantastic work by Pascal Groß who registered his tenth league assist of the campaign – the joint most in the Premier League this season alongside Ollie Watkins and Kieran Trippier.
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This result against Sean Dyche’s men saw the Southcoast side remain in seventh place, and they are now only above West Ham United on goal difference after the Hammers’ 4-2 defeat over Brentford on Monday night.
The Seagulls now sit just one point above Wednesday’s FA Cup opponents with Gary O’Neil’s side picking up three wins in their last four Premier League outings as the race for European football becomes even tighter.
As for Brighton, they have won just two of their last seven Premier League fixtures. However, a 5-0 thumping of Sheffield United in their last away trip in the league should give them confidence as they visit Craven Cottage.
This will be the Seagulls’ final league game before they travel for the first leg of their round of 16 Europa League tie against AS Roma on Thursday.
De Zerbi continues to implement a system that looks to transition between a back three and back four throughout matches. When deploying a back three, the two wing-backs are often fluid in their positioning, with one remaining advanced as a winger while the other drops into a fullback role to create a defensive four.
How Brighton Have Lined-up Recently
An extensive list of injuries and suspensions has caused problems and significant rotation for the Seagulls, who were without nine first-team players on Wednesday night.
De Zerbi has struggled to establish his first-choice goalkeeper with Bart Verbruggen and Jason Steele each starting five of the last ten games in all competitions.
However, the Dutchman has started the last two league games and after Steele’s glaring error led to Wolves’ winning goal on Wednesday, Verbruggen looks more likely to become the regular between the sticks.
Dunk and Jan Paul van Hecke continue to be ever-present for the Seagulls, largely in central defence. Wednesday’s cup fixture saw Van Hecke shift to right-back for large parts as Igor Julio started in the left-sided centre-back role with Pervis Estupinian alongside him at left-back.
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Billy Gilmour’s three-match suspension after his red card against Everton meant his partnership in central midfield with Groß was disrupted for the first time in 14 games against Wolves. Gilmour’s absence saw Polish international Jakub Moder start alongside the German.
Simon Adingra and Facundo Buonanotte have both impressed in recent weeks with Adingra bagging a brace against Sheffield United and Buonanotte scoring three in his last seven. Their place in the side looks to have been further cemented by the injury to Kaoru Mitoma.
With top scorer Joao Pedro and fellow forward Evan Ferguson ruled out of Wednesday’s game and doubts over Welbeck’s fitness in the build-up to the game, the Seagulls started Barcelona loanee Ansu Fati up front.
Julio Enciso has made appearances from the bench in Brighton’s last two games after returning from a torn meniscus which has sidelined the Paraguayan since August.
Absentees To Consider
De Zerbi shared on Friday that Ferguson will be available for the Seagulls after missing their midweek clash. The Irish youngster scored in the 1-1 draw when Brighton hosted Fulham in October.
The Italian manager confirmed Tariq Lamptey and Joel Veltman will also return after being part of the nine players to not feature against Wolves.
Following the FA Cup loss, De Zerbi said it will be “two to three weeks” before Pedro can return due to the thigh injury that has kept him out since the start of February.
The Brighton boss confirmed last week that Japanese international Mitoma could be out for the rest of the season due to a back injury while Gilmour will serve the second match of his three-game suspension this weekend.
Solly March, James Milner and Jack Hinshelwood continue to be sidelined through long-term injuries.
Brighton Predicted Lineup
GK Bart Verbruggen
RB Joel Veltman
CB Jan Paul van Hecke
CB Lewis Dunk
LB Tariq Lamptey
CM Pascal Groß
CM Jakub Moder
LW Simon Adingra
CAM Julio Enciso
RW Facundo Buonanotte
ST Danny Welbeck
