The Seagulls look to move up to seventh with a win against hosts and rivals Crystal Palace. It will be Brighton & Hove Albion manager Roberto De Zerbi’s 50th league game in charge, coming one week after his team won their Europa League group in their debut campaign.
De Zerbi told MyAlbionTV: “I think it’s the best game for us to celebrate. I’m really proud and lucky to stay here.”
The Eagles enter the derby without a win in their previous six however their last match was an impressive comeback against reigning champions Manchester City featuring two late goals after trailing 2-0 at halftime, including a 95th minute Michael Olise penalty.
Dean Henderson will start again in place of the injured Sam Johnstone.
Speaking before the match, manager Roy Hodgson said: “We were very pleased with his [Henderson] performance. It was a tough ask for him because he didn’t have an awful lot of time to sort of prepare it.”
Embed from Getty ImagesSpeaking about Albion’s own injury concerns, De Zerbi said: “Joel [Veltman]’s injury is not so big but I think for a couple of months we’ve lost him.
“Danny [Welbeck] is not yet ready to start but it’s important to have him available to play a part, he changed the game Sunday.”
The last derby between these rivals ended in a 1-0 Brighton home win thanks to Solly March’s goal, ending a run of three consecutive 1-1 draws. Palace’s last win in this derby came in February 2021 at Amex stadium.
