5 hours Ago By John Brewin
Joao Pedro is in the Brighton squad but on the bench , and Callum Hudson-Odoi starts for Nottingham Forest after scoring the winner at Liverpool. Anthony Elanga is in the forward line, too. Simon Adingra replaces Yankuba Minteh on the wing, in tandem with Kaoru Mitoma.
Jack Hinshelwood moves from left-back into midfield – such a talent – as the mighty Pervis Estupinan makes a long-awaited return. Brighton: Verbruggen, Veltman, Dunk, Van Hecke, Estupinan, Baleba, Hinshelwood, Rutter, Adingra, Mitoma, Welbeck. Subs: Steele, Julio, Webster, Kadioglu, Wieffer, Minteh, Enciso, Pedro, Ferguson.
Nottingham Forest: Sels, Murillo, Anderson, Gibbs-White, Wood, Hudson-Odoi, Ward-Prowse, Moreno, Elanga, Milenkovic, Aina. Subs: Miguel, Morato, Williams, Awoniyi, Dominguez, Da Silva Moreira, Jota, Yates, Sosa. Last time out for both teams.
Early team news Joao Pedro continues to be a doubt – he missed the last two matches, and that’s Hurzeler’s problem in finding that goal. Brajan Gruda, Solly March, James Milner and Matt O’Riley are all long-term absentees. For Forest, Wily Boly and Ibrahim Sangare are likely to be missing.
How to follow Anfield for Nottingham Forest ? A first win since 1969 was the shock of the season so far, and it will take something fairly seismic to surpass it. Nuno is the Forest manager that many doubted, and many tipped for relegation. An unbeaten start to the season suggests otherwise.
Meanwhile, Brighton have begun brightly under Fabian Hurzeler, similarly unbeaten. Their manager’s 31, you know. Anyway, they’ve been playing fine football, if slightly bereft of the cutting edge that Graham Potter and Roberto de Zerbi often struggled to find.
So, there’s unbeaten records on the line. Let’s call it a draw? Nah, this could be a good, instructive match. Kick-off 2pm UK time.
Join me..
