Crystal Palace will travel down to Brighton for the first edition of the rivalry this season, and the first for Palace under Pierre Sage. Palace haven’t lost at the AMEX in two years, 1-0 winners last time out in a game which resulted in Brighton fans chanting for manager Fabian Hurzeler’s head. 

Now just months on, Brighton find themselves third in the Premier League, and are one of the form sides in the country, whilst Palace are still finding their feet under Sage. 

Form tends to go out of the window when these sides meet, and Palace fans will be hoping that remains the case. 

Crystal Palace are unbeaten against Brighton since a thumping 4-1 defeat at the AMEX in February of 2024. In the four games since, Palace have won three, including a 2-1 win at Selhurst Park with just nine men. 

Last time out, Palace won 1-0 on the South Coast, Ismaïla Sarr scoring the decisive goal. 

In the Premier League, both sides are relatively close in terms of past results. In eighteen games, Palace have won six, Brighton four with eight ending level. 

Wilfried Zaha remains the fixtures top scorer in Premier League meetings, with Ismaïla Sarr hot on his tail with just two goals less. Both sides have scored 21 goals in that time, with the fixture tending to go one of two ways. Either a tight affair is decided by one goal, or one side wins big. 

Brighton have only been victorious twice in the last six years, and there will be unsurprising confidence from the hosts going into this game considering their start to the season. 

Brighton have been playing free-flowing attacking football, and it’s seen its rewards. A 3-0 home win over Premier League Champions Arsenal was a statement victory, and it feels as if the club are seeing the benefits of sticking with their manager, who could easily have lost his job at times in the last two years. 

Now though, it all seems to be clicking. 

For Palace, they come into this game in relatively strong form, but off the back of numerous games where they simply haven’t been able to sustain the level of performance over the course of ninety minutes, other than in the away draw with Leeds United at Elland Road. 

The Eagles have the chance to register back to back Premier League wins for the first time this season after their 3-1 win over Nottingham Forest last weekend. A win could take Palace as high as 7th depending on other results this weekend, and it would be the perfect response to the disappointment in midweek against Lyon. 

In his press conference, Pierre Sage hinted that he wanted to stop putting as much pressure on the injured players to return. 

Dean Henderson, Jean-Philippe Mateta, Ben Chilwell and Takehiro Tomiyasu all missed the trip to France, with Chadi Riad still out with the long term injury he suffered in the opening Premier League game at Everton. 

Sage had initially targeted Lyon as a return date for a number of those players, but in his press conference the day after Palace’s 3-2 defeat, he said that he would need to wait and see how they fared in both Friday and Saturday’s training sessions. 

Axel Disasi will serve the final game of his three match ban following his red card in the 3-2 defeat to Ipswich Town, which means the likely back three will be Canvot, Ahanor and Richards, unless Sage pivots to the experience of Lerma as he did in the game against Forest. 

There will also be intrigue into who is picked to start on the right hand side of the forward line. Daichi Kamada has been hugely effective this season, and was excellent again when he came off the bench in Lyon. Sarr started that game and was largely ineffective, clearly struggling for match fitness, but his return to the squad has caused somewhat of a selection headache. 

Brighton have been superb this season, but they can be got at, with a lack of pace in the backline. Therefore, it could be wise to start Sarr, who has had so much joy against the likes of Lewis Dunk in recent meetings. 

Luka Vušković has been a solid addition to their ranks, but again lacks mobility hugely which Palace will need to exploit if they’re to stand a chance of winning points. 

The midfield battle will also be key. Pascal Groß has been excellent so far this season, winning the Premier League Player of the Month award for September. Summer signing Chema Andrés has also been great, after Brighton were somehow offered a free run at the talented Spaniard. 

Quinten Timber has been equally impressive, but his midfield partner Adam Wharton will need to get back to his own standards, as he’s been off the pace so far this campaign. 

The main aim for Sage has to be for his players to put up a strong performance throughout the entire game, and not just for brief spells. If they can do that, it will be a stark improvement on recent weeks, and what better game for it all to click.