Crystal Palace vs Brighton and Hove Albion. Premier League.
Selhurst ParkAttendance24,972.
Watch live on Sky Sports Premier League from 11.30am on Saturday
Thursday 2 April 2020 11:35, UK
Fierce rivals Crystal Palace and Brighton will go head to head in the Premier League on Saturday, live on Sky Sports.
Brighton saw off the Crystal Palace 3-1 at home in December, and Chris Hughton knows it will be another fiery encounter at Selhurst Park in Saturday's lunchtime kick-off.
"They have some very good individuals and are in good form and we know we'll have to be at our best," he said. "Roy is someone I know very well. He's assembled a very good side. To still be doing it at this level, at this age, is exceptional. Credit to him.
"It's a big one for both sets of supporters. It's one they don't want to lose - speaking of our fans, they've been excellent all year. Our supporters will make themselves heard, and it's up to us to reward them for that."
Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson was also keen to point out the importance of the fixture to the club and its fans, as well as being a chance to get points on the board.
"It's a derby game really, that's how we and our supporters regard it. I think that rivalry was fiercest years ago, of course there has been quite some time where the two teams had not been in the same division. It was renewed with a vengeance last year when Brighton came up and are doing very, very well," he said.
"I suppose that people from the outside need to realise that we regard this as a very, very important fixture and one which means a lot to our fans. You're affected by it, the way the fans feel, that's what derbies do.
"They fire everybody up because we're so much more aware of what it means to the people who follow us every week. The bragging rights that the fans take with them when they go to their work-place is important. I'm pretty sure that Chris Hughton will, like myself, revert to the fact that it's a very important Premier League game with three points at stake."
Brighton will again be without midfielder Pascal Gross after the attacking midfielder suffered a hamstring injury, which forced him to miss last weekend's win over Huddersfield.
Other than that, Hughton reported no fresh injury concerns, with Leon Balogun having returned to training following a shoulder problem.
Pape Souare could be involved for Crystal Palace after returning from a dislocated his shoulder he suffered in an FA Cup win against Grimsby two months ago. Mamadou Sakho, who had a knee operation last week, is a certain omission.
Crystal Palace have lost just one of their last nine home meetings with Brighton in all competitions (W6 D2), going down 0-1 in October 2005 in the Championship.
Brighton are looking to do the league double over Crystal Palace for the first time since 1983-84 in the second tier.
Crystal Palace have won just one of their last six home Premier League games (D2 L3). Indeed, the Eagles have won the lowest proportion of their points in home games in the competition this season (39% - 13/33).
Brighton are looking to secure consecutive Premier League victories for the first time since December, when they beat Huddersfield and Crystal Palace.
Brighton have lost five of their seven Premier League matches in London (W1 D1) - prior to this run, the Seagulls had lost just five of their previous 30 league matches in London.
There have been 25 goals scored in 14 Premier League games at Crystal Palace's Selhurst Park (F10 A15), fewer than at any other ground in the competition this season.
Crystal Palace's Wilfried Zaha has scored five goals in nine appearances against Brighton in all competitions - against no side has he scored more.
Brighton's Glenn Murray has scored in each of his last three appearances against Crystal Palace in all competitions for the Seagulls.
Brighton manager Chris Hughton has won six matches against Crystal Palace in all competitions - against no side has he won more in his career (also six against Reading and Leeds United).
It's a hard one because it's a derby game. Brighton needed to win their game against Huddersfield badly. I think Palace will be alright, but Brighton had to take three points. If they had been beaten against Huddersfield, they would definitely be in the relegation battle, but they should be alright because I don't see Cardiff winning many more matches.
PAUL PREDICTS: 1-0 (5/1 with Sky Bet)
