In pursuit of their second victory over Chelsea in the space of a week, Brighton & Hove Albion have now been handed a fresh injury boost, which could see one player make his return.
Brighton injury news
Two clubs with plenty of recent history thanks to Moises Caicedo, Robert Sanchez and Marc Cucurella, Brighton and Chelsea square off just one week after their FA Cup clash this weekend. Taking their battle to the Premier League, it’s the Seagulls who will be desperate to see a repeat of last time out, which saw them defeat their London opposition 2-1.
To say it was a much-needed victory for Fabian Hurzeler would be a slight understatement, meanwhile. The Brighton boss has found himself under increasing pressure in recent weeks, which threatened to reach boiling point when his side shipped seven in a humiliating defeat at high-flying Nottingham Forest.
Just two games later, however, the young manager has the chance to make it back-to-back wins over a top six side and restore some faith that his side are heading in the right direction. In pursuit of that, Hurzeler has already been boosted by some injury news too.
As revealed by the manager, Mats Wieffer could now make his return against Chelsea after missing the last nine games through a leg injury. The Dutchman only arrived in the summer and will be desperate to kickstart his time at The Amex – starting tonight against the Blues.
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The Seagulls are in the race to sign a promising young attacker, who has been tipped for future success.
Hurzeler told reporters when asked about the midfielder: “Mats trained this week, he might be an option for the game, so we have to see how training is going today.”
Whilst the £60,000-a-week man is unlikely to start, he could make the bench in what should provide the Seagulls’ squad with at least a boost in the form of depth.
“Fast” Wieffer can kickstart Brighton career
Having started just four Premier League games since arriving from Feyenoord in the summer, Wieffer will be keen to get going again now that his injury struggles are hopefully behind him. In what has been an out-of-form Brighton side, he may finally get the chance to make his mark on a permanent basis alongside the likes of Carlos Baleba.
Hurzeler is certainly a fan of the Dutchman too, having told BBC Sport back in December: “Nowadays you call it the holding six and I think that this is one of the most important positions in our team.
“He is very good in possession, has good passing and a good understanding of the game. Out of possession, he is very athletic. He is a fast and tall, so he has the whole package to be a top, top player in the Premier League.
“He needed a little bit of time to adapt to the intensity and to the speed of everything as it is different to the league he played before, but he was always there in training and he always tried to improve.”
