Brighton and Hove Albion vs Crystal Palace. Premier League.
Amex StadiumAttendance29,889.
Tuesday 28 November 2017 18:51, UK
Crystal Palace will look to extend their good recent record against Brighton as the derby rivals meet in a top-flight fixture for the first time since April 1981.
Palace have won six of the teams' last 11 meetings, losing just twice in that sequence, and they beat Brighton in the Championship play-off semi-finals on their way to promotion in 2013.
They also won at the weekend, beating Stoke 2-1 at Selhurst Park, to move within three points of 17th place in the Premier League.
However, manager Roy Hodgson is keen to avoid adding to the intense focus which comes when two fierce rivals meet.
He said: "As far as derbies are concerned, the guys hear enough from the fans and externally around all that. It's important as a manager and coach that you don't add to that hype.
"Players have to play more with their head than their heart, so you don't want to have players playing too much with their heart and losing that focus.
"Brighton and ourselves are both football teams who don't base our game on intimidation or a gung-ho style of football.
"Every club has classic derbies, but this is the most important for Palace fans. Managers, coaches, players understand there's a fierce rivalry where fans care that extra bit about the result."
Brighton manager Chris Hughton has no fresh injury worries ahead of the match, although Steve Sidwell remains sidelined with a back problem.
Beram Kayal could be on the bench again after being listed as a substitute for Saturday's 1-0 defeat at Manchester United.
Kayal, who is yet to play in the Premier League for Brighton, suffered a broken leg in a pre-season game against Atletico Madrid in August.
Palace also go with the same squad they had available to them at the weekend, when they won for the first time in six games.
Hodgson could choose to rotate his players ahead of the busy festive schedule, although it is more likely he will look to build momentum off the back of defeating Stoke.
This will be the fifth top-flight meeting between Brighton and Hove Albion and Crystal Palace, with the Seagulls unbeaten in the previous four matches (W3 D1).
Crystal Palace have lost just two of their last 11 games against rivals Brighton in all competitions (W6 D3 L2).
Crystal Palace have kept a clean sheet in three of their last four games against Brighton in all competitions, with current goalkeeper Julian Speroni in goal for each game in this period.
Palace have lost and failed to score in eight successive Premier League away matches. If they repeat this at Brighton they will set a new top-flight record of nine away losses without scoring.
In their eight-game scoreless run away from home in the Premier League, Palace have attempted 70 shots and 12 shots on target without finding the net. The 70 shots without scoring have been spread across 17 different players.
Since losing 2-0 to Manchester City in their first game of the season, Brighton have gone five successive home matches without a defeat in the Premier League (W2 D3 L0).
Since 2014-15, Palace have won just one of their 14 Premier League midweek matches (Tuesday to Thursday), losing nine and drawing four.
Wilfried Zaha has scored three goals in three league games (including play-offs) against Brighton at the AMEX Stadium for Crystal Palace.
Of the 347 players to have played at least 10 Premier League games on a Tuesday, Christian Benteke has the best strike rate on this day (0.82 - nine goals in 11 games).
Christian Benteke has now gone nine Premier League games without a win since he last scored on May 14 - his longest run without a goal in the competition since February 2015.
Brighton were bang unlucky against Man Utd, they played really well against them and this game is a big derby, even though I know they are not in London. This is Palace's big game, if I am being honest, and it is definitely Brighton's, and I am going for a draw.
PAUL PREDICTS: 1-1 (9/2 with Sky Bet)
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Brighton are Sky Bet's 13/8 favourites with Crystal Palace priced at 19/10 while the draw is a 2/1 chance.
Glenn Murray and Christian Benteke are 5/1 apiece in the first goalscorer betting, while Anthony Knockaert and Wilfried Zaha are enhanced to 10/1 and 7/1 respectively in Sky Bet's Price Boosts.
Brighton v Crystal Palace is included in Tuesday's round of Super 6, with £250,000 up for grabs for predicting six correct scores.
