MX23RW : Thursday, November 7 21:51:58| >> :120:5837:5837:
[monks data]
Brighton logo
Premier League | Gameweek 6
Sep 24, 2023 at 2pm UK
The American Express Community Stadium
Bournemouth logo

Brighton
3 - 1
Bournemouth

Kerkez (45+2' og.), Mitoma (46', 77')
Veltman (37'), Gilmour (45+3'), Dunk (75')
FT(HT: 1-1)
Solanke (25')
Zabarnyi (41'), Brooks (89'), Senesi (90+6')

Pascal Gross one of four Brighton players doubtful for Bournemouth clash

Gross one of four Brighton players doubtful for Bournemouth clash
© Reuters
Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Pascal Gross is one of four doubtful players for Sunday's Premier League clash at home against Bournemouth.

Brighton & Hove Albion quartet Pascal Gross, Lewis Dunk, Evan Ferguson and James Milner are all doubtful for Sunday's Premier League clash at home against Bournemouth.

Both Gross and Milner started in the Seagulls' 3-2 defeat against AEK Athens in their Europa League group-stage opener on Thursday night.

However, Milner was withdrawn early in the second half with a suspected muscle injury, while Gross played the full 90 minutes but has also picked up a muscle problem.

Meanwhile, captain Dunk missed the defeat to AEK Athens due to a muscle issue of his own sustained in the 3-1 win at Manchester United last weekend, and teenage striker Ferguson was also absent due to illness.

Brighton head coach Roberto De Zerbi has confirmed that all four players are doubtful for Sunday, with Ferguson the most likely of the quartet to feature in some capacity against Bournemouth.

Brighton & Hove Albion manager Roberto De Zerbi celebrates after the match on September 16, 2023© Reuters

"I don't know the situation with James Milner," De Zerbi said at a press conference on Friday. "Pascal [Gross] has a muscular problem. We have to analyse the situation and take the best decision.

"With Lewis [Dunk] we can't take any risks (with his muscular problem), especially at this point of the season. With Evan [Ferguson], there's a chance he can play."

De Zerbi added: "I'm more worried about the injuries than the result (against AEK Athens), because we lost against West Ham, a very close game, and then we won against Newcastle and Man United. We have to analyse the quality of the performance, the attitude of the players, not the result."

Asked about the challenges of a busy Thursday-to-Sunday fixture schedule and if he will need to make a lot of changes this weekend, the Italian said: "Yes, a lot. If I analyse the first 11 of Liverpool or Aston Villa or West Ham yesterday, you can find a lot of changes. Especially for us, it is different because we are not used to playing so many games.

"West Ham played in the Conference League last year, Liverpool played in the Champions League, but we are not used to it and we have to change and we have to [use] everyone because we have an alright squad.

"We have to adapt, not only coaches, players – everyone, [including] the people who work inside the club. We do not have many days off in between matches for example. We have to not only organise one game, but we have to organise three games.

Brighton & Hove Albion manager Roberto De Zerbi before the match on August 12, 2023© Reuters

"We can't only put our focus on the game tomorrow. With our attitude, behaviour and attention, yes, but we have to work thinking we play every three days and it is totally different. This is my focus."

Dunk, Gross and Milner are all senior leadership figures within Brighton's first-team squad who could miss out this weekend, but De Zerbi has suggested that he has other players who can step up in their absence.

"We have to find another leader," said the Italian. "Gross is a big leader for us. [Danny] Welbeck is another big leader. I think Adam Webster is a leader, one of the best leaders inside the dressing room. He's not had a very good moment in terms of his physical condition, but when he plays, he plays every game in a good way."

"We have a lot of younger players and they have to progress in their leadership, and I am speaking about Billy Gilmour, [Mahmoud] Dahoud, Pervis Estupinan. Pervis is young but he has the potential to be another leader."

Brighton have accumulated 12 points from a possible 15 available in the Premier League this season, and they could move into the top four with a victory over Bournemouth, who are still searching for their first win of the new campaign.

ID:524731:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect5782:No Data Analysis info

Click here for more stories about Pascal Gross

Click here for more stories about Bournemouth

Game History

How you voted: Brighton vs Bournemouth

Brighton & Hove Albion
82.7%
Draw
12.7%
Bournemouth
4.5%
110
Collect / Create New Data
Share this article now:
Barcelona's Ansu Fati pictured during the warm up before the match on October 20 2022
Read Next:
How Brighton could line up with Ansu Fati
>
Sports Mole Logo
Enter your email address to subscribe to Sports Mole's free daily transfer newsletter! Sent twice a day during the transfer window.
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool108111961325
2Manchester CityMan City1072121111023
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest10541147719
4Chelsea105322012818
5Arsenal105321711618
6Aston Villa105321715218
7Tottenham HotspurSpurs1051422111116
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton104421714316
9Fulham104331413115
10Bournemouth104331312115
11Newcastle UnitedNewcastle104331010015
12Brentford104151920-113
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd10334912-312
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham103251319-611
15Leicester CityLeicester102441418-410
16Everton102351017-79
17Crystal Palace10145813-57
18Ipswich TownIpswich100551021-115
19Southampton10118719-124
20Wolverhampton WanderersWolves100371427-133


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!