article-image

Confident Brighton enjoying the moment after fine start

2
1
Clock Icon3 HoursFootball

Georginio Rutter says Brighton's squad are revelling in the moment after their fantastic start to the campaign.

Brighton thrashed Kauno Zalgiris 4-0 on Thursday in their first Conference League match.

Rutter scored twice and provided an assist as Fabian Hurzeler's team continued their fine form.

Brighton sit third in the Premier League, having won four of their six games, including beating Arsenal 3-0 before the international break.

The Seagulls are the league's highest scorers (18 goals), and also lead the way for expected goals (12.9).

"It's not every time one player [who scores]," said Rutter.

"We are a good team, everybody scores, and everybody assists, so I think the atmosphere of the team at the moment is very good, so we are confident and in good shape."

Next up for Brighton is a home clash with rivals Crystal Palace.

Like Brighton, Palace were in European action on Thursday. They lost 3-2 to Lyon in the Europa League.

Pierre Sage, who was Lyon's former coach, bemoaned a poor first-half display from Palace.

He told UEFA: "It's a very disappointing return because we lost. I can't take satisfaction from coming back home or seeing familiar faces when the result isn't there.

"The scoreline may have been close, but there was a big difference in the way the two teams played.

"We improved considerably after the break and gave ourselves a chance, but conceding that third goal made things difficult.

"I think our second-half efforts deserved an equaliser, although winning would have been a generous reward given that we only really played [to our level] for one half."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Brighton – Pascal Gross

Gross has been involved in seven goals in his last five Premier League appearances for Brighton (three goals, four assists), assisting in each of his last three games.

The 35-year-old could become the oldest player with an assist in four games in a row since Gianfranco Zola in December 2002, who was 36 during a five-game streak for Chelsea.

Crystal Palace – Daichi Kamada

Kamada has been involved in four goals in his last four Premier League appearances (one goal, three assists).

The Japan international did not score or assist in any of his first 64 games in the competition for Palace.

MATCH PREDICTION: BRIGHTON WIN

Brighton are the Opta supercomputer's favourites, but they have lost their last two home Premier League games against Palace – they have not lost three in a row at home against their rivals in their league history.

Palace have won three of their last four Premier League games against Brighton (D1), as many as they managed in their first 14 against the Seagulls (D7 L4).

For the fourth time in their last six Premier League seasons, Brighton have won as many as 13 points in their first six games (13 in 2021-22, 13 in 2022-23, 15 in 2023-24, 13 in 2026-27). Only Arsenal and Manchester City (five each) have achieved that tally in more seasons in that timeframe.

Palace have failed to score in four of their last six away Premier League matches, as many as in their previous 26 games on the road.

Brighton are the first side to score as many as 18 goals in their first six Premier League games in a season since Brighton themselves in 2023-24 (18). The Seagulls went on to finish 11th that season, the only time in Premier League history a team had started a season with 18+ goals in their first six games and not finished in the top six.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Brighton – 60.2%

Draw – 20.9%

Crystal Palace – 18.9%