On the back of a disheartening three-game losing run away from home, Brighton & Hove Albion make a much-needed return to Amex territory on Sunday, hosting relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest in the Premier League.
The Seagulls were destroyed 4-0 by Roma in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 clash on Thursday, while the Tricky Trees took a late punch to the gut in a 1-0 loss to Liverpool last weekend.
Match preview
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For the first time in the Roberto De Zerbi era, Brighton have been condemned to three successive defeats across all competitions, following up their FA Cup exit to Wolverhampton Wanderers and 3-0 Premier League humiliation at Fulham with an even heavier loss at the hands of rampant Roma.
Paulo Dybala, Romelu Lukaku, Gianluca Mancini and Bryan Cristante got the goals which will surely spell the end of Brighton's maiden European sojourn, unless De Zerbi's out-of-sorts troops can pull off a Barcelona-esque second-leg fightback on March 14, a highly unlikely scenario amid their current predicament.
Not since his otherwise lauded stint at Sassuolo in January 2020 had De Zerbi been beaten three times in a row as a manager, and owing to last weekend's shocking three-goal beatdown at the hands of Fulham, the ninth-placed hosts are now three points adrift of West Ham United in the final European place.
Demolishing Sheffield United 5-0 on February 18 was not a sign of things to come for Brighton, who have netted just once in their subsequent four fixtures and drawn blanks in each of their last three, but the sun often shines down onto the blue and white shirts at the Amex Stadium.
Indeed, the Seagulls enter Sunday's game aiming to extend an applaudable 12-match unbeaten run on their home ground, where AEK Athens were the last visiting team to triumph on September 21, and not since August have De Zerbi's men lost a top-flight contest at their Amex base.
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Speaking of unbeaten home sequences, Liverpool had never won a Premier League game at Nottingham Forest's City Ground prior to last weekend's contest, but Jurgen Klopp's men lifted that curse in controversial circumstances to leave the Tricky Trees forlorn and furious.
With no fewer than 99 minutes on the board, Darwin Nunez flicked a deft header into the bottom corner to snatch all three points for the Merseyside giants, but according to the laws of the game, the drop-ball that preceded Liverpool's latest-ever winning goal in the Premier League should have gone the hosts' way instead.
The heated aftermath saw Forest coach Steven Reid sent off and owner Evangelos Marinakis allegedly pursue the officials down the tunnel, and the club have now been hit with a misconduct charge by the FA, which they have until next Wednesday to respond to.
Nuno Espirito Santo and his playing staff cannot concern themselves with potential fines and punishments as they bid to snap their own three-game losing run across all tournaments, one which leaves the Garibaldi hovering just above the dotted line in 17th place, four points clear of Luton Town having played one game more.
While home is where the heart is for Brighton, Forest have accrued just nine points on the road thus far this season - only Burnley (eight) and Sheffield United (five) have taken fewer - and the Reds let a one-goal lead slip in a 3-2 loss to the Seagulls at the City Ground back in November.
Team News
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Following his red card against Everton at the end of February, Billy Gilmour will serve the third and final game of his three-match domestic suspension this weekend; either Carlos Baleba or Adam Lallana should benefit from his absence.
Solly March (knee), Kaoru Mitoma (back) and Jack Hinshelwood (foot) will not exit the infirmary for some time yet, and the quick turnaround from Thursday's game means that neither of De Zerbi's two thigh victims in James Milner or Joao Pedro - scorer of two goals at the City Ground four months ago - should make their comebacks here.
The Brighton boss is still blessed with several options for rotation and should not shy away from a multitude of changes, as Pervis Estupinan, Adam Webster, Joel Veltman, Ansu Fati and Evan Ferguson bid to win their places back.
As well as losing their cool at full time, Nottingham Forest also lost Nicolas Dominguez to a hamstring complaint in the loss to Liverpool last weekend, although Santo is keeping his fingers crossed that the midfielder did not suffer anything more sinister than tightness.
Ola Aina and Willy Boly are yet to appear since the Africa Cup of Nations, although the latter is on the verge of a comeback, while neither Nuno Tavares (unspecified) nor Chris Wood (thigh) will take part in Sunday's game.
Giovanni Reyna and Gonzalo Montiel were also nowhere to be seen last weekend due to unspecified complaints, and it remains to be seen whether the pair are ready to go this weekend.
Danilo and Ibrahim Sangare - back from his own AFCON-related issue - will be waiting in the wings if Dominguez is not risked, while Taiwo Awoniyi should take the place of another former Liverpool attacker in Divock Origi, as was the case after 65 minutes last weekend.
Brighton & Hove Albion possible starting lineup:
Verbruggen; Veltman, Dunk, Webster, Estupinan; Baleba, Gross; Fati, Lallana, Adingra; Ferguson
Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:
Sels; Williams, Omobamidele, Murillo, Toffolo; Danilo, Yates; Elanga, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Awoniyi
We say: Brighton & Hove Albion 2-1 Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest did themselves proud against the league leaders last weekend and carved out their fair share of opportunities to score themselves, only to be let down by poor finishing or thwarted by Caoimhin Kelleher.
Brighton's recent attacking performances have left a lot to be desired too, but the hosts almost always find a way to win points in front of the Amex faithful, and a rejigged Seagulls outfit have our vote to return to triumphant ways.
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