Brighton and Hove Albion present former head coach Roberto De Zerbi with a tough test in his home match since taking charge of Tottenham Hotspur.
Albion will be without veteran midfielder James Milner who remains unavailable for the trip to relegation-threatened Spurs tomorrow (Saturday 18 April).
Milner missed the 2-0 victory at Burnley last weekend with what boss Fabian Hürzeler described as a “small issue” and is still ruled out.
Brighton have no fresh injury problems, however, and have recovered their form, with five wins in their past six games.
Hürzeler said: “James will still be out but he’s getting close. Besides that, everything is fine.”
The Albion head coach is to lock horns with the new Tottenham boss De Zerbi for the first time since he replaced the Italian at Amex Stadium in 2024.
De Zerbi is a popular figure on the south coast having steered Brighton to their highest-ever Premier League finish of sixth in 2023.
He also masterminded the club’s FA Cup run to the semi-finals in the same season.
Having left for Marseille, De Zerbi now faces the challenge of keeping Spurs in the top flight.
Hürzeler said: “Roberto deserves praise because he had a huge impact on this club and had great achievements with the players.
“He reached Europe for the first time so he deserves this praise.
“On the other side, when the whistle goes, it’s a game between Brighton and Tottenham.
“We are there to win this game and that’s our focus.”
De Zerbi has had one bit of good news as Rodrigo Bentancur returned to training.
The Uruguay midfielder had been on Spurs’ lengthy casualty list since suffering a hamstring injury in January.
Bentancur now looks set to provide a timely boost for new De Zerbi as they look to stave off the drop.
Spurs slipped into the relegation zone after the 1-0 defeat at Sunderland in De Zerbi’s first game in charge and now have six matches left to save themselves.
They also lost captain Cristian Romero to a season-ending knee injury at the Stadium of Light while Mohammed Kudus, Wilson Odobert, Ben Davies, James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski remain long-term absentees.
De Zerbi will be hoping that Bentancur will be fit enough to be included in the squad for the Seagulls’ visit.
The 28-year-old was a regular starter under previous boss Thomas Frank, making 28 appearances in all competitions this season before injury struck.
