Brighton and Hove Albion boss Roberto De Zerbi said that it was “great” news that his side would not have to face Erling Haaland when they play Manchester City this evening.
But the visitors had plenty of big players ready to step in when they come to the Amex, Se Zerbi added.
Haaland, the Premier League’s joint top scorer, missed the FA Cup semi-final win against Chelsea on Saturday with a muscle issue which has also ruled the Norway striker out of tonight’s match.
De Zerbi, though, said that City had several other dangermen as Pep Guardiola’s side look to keep themselves in the hunt for the title.
He said: “That is great news (for us) because Haaland is a top player. Unfortunately, they will play with (Julian) Alvarez. He is still a big player. Bernardo (Silva) is a big player. (Jeremy) Doku or (Jack) Grealish – both are big wingers.
“With Arsenal and Liverpool, they (City) are one of the best teams in the Premier League, so for us it is a very tough game. But we would like to play well and we would like to make points for sure.”
De Zerbi has been dealing with a lengthy injury list – with both striker Evan Ferguson and defender Pervis Estupinan now set to miss the rest of the season.
The Italian coach told a pre-match press conference: “This season has been very tough, especially after January. We are suffering too many injuries to key players.
“The season is not finished yet but I am disappointed because I wanted to compete in a different way in these past three months.
“We have to accept and for sure next season we will have a bit more experience because we are suffering a tough period – and it is not finished yet unfortunately.”
Despite their injury problems, Brighton look set for another top-10 finish – and are not completely out of contention for securing European qualification again.
De Zerbi said: “We have (to play) a lot of teams who are higher on the table but we try to do that and to win games.
“First of all, we have to start with the performance – we have to play better for sure. We have to be stronger in the last 20 metres and to give our best. We can’t do more than that.”
While defender Adam Webster is available again this evening after a muscle problem, De Zerbi said that both Estupinan and Ferguson will not feature again this season.
Full-back Estupinan suffered a calf injury during the draw at Burnley on Saturday 13 April while Republic of Ireland forward Ferguson has also been struggling with his own ankle problem.
De Zerbi said: “Pervis = no. His season is finished. It is muscular – his calf.
“Evan felt pain in the ankle a lot of times. He tried to move on and play with pain but in the end he preferred to stop and think about next season.”
