Brighton & Hove Albion

Harry Poole
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

In contrast to Spurs, Fabian Hurzeler's Brighton sat top of the form table after winning five of their past six league games in their late surge towards the European places.

Naming an unchanged side after the Seagulls maintained their momentum at Burnley, Hurzeler was again forced to watch from the stands as he served the second of his two-match touchline ban.

Brighton were forced to remain patient for their opportunities but eventually found their rhythm during a frantic end to the first half.

Danny Welbeck twice went close to a breakthrough, but was unable to add a finishing touch when Micky Van de Ven deflected Jack Hinshelwood's header against his own post, before having a glancing header saved by Antonin Kinsky.

With a chance to go sixth set to pass them by, Ferdi Kadioglu appeared to have missed the chance to rescue a late point for the visitors when he shot into the side-netting.

But Georginio Rutter would make no mistake after Jan Paul van Hecke robbed Kevin Danso of possession inside the Spurs penalty area, the point keeping them within reach of sixth-placed Chelsea, who they face next on Tuesday night.

Brighton Manager Fabian Hurzeler, speaking to Sky Sports: "Not our best performance, but we showed belief through the whole game. We were there to win it, especially in the second half. We controlled, we dominated, we had so many chances.

"We looked good, we have to believe to win it. I have to say regarding the performance, we take the point. We are disappointed because we wanted more. We showed good character."

On opportunities in the game: "We had the big chance and we didn't score. They scored with a brilliant moment. We weren't always able to defend Xavi [Simons], we didn't always perform at the highest level, but we showed real character. Our subs made a huge difference when they came into the game, they had a big impact and that's positive.

"We are sticking together as a group. Today wasn't our best game, but we take the point. We are still on a good run."

On Europe hopes: "Of course we take the positives, but it's noise. There are still five big games to go, we just focus game to game."

Brighton goalscorer Georginio Rutter, speaking to Match of the Day: "I think we deserved a point. It's frustrating we conceded two goals, but we take the positives and one point is better than nothing."

"We have to stay together, we are a team. We have good spirit and stay together and I hope at the end we can have a good present because we think about Europe."

On wanting to play European football: "For every player it is good to play in a European competition. We have to take it game by game."

Did you know?

• Brighton and Hove Albion are unbeaten in their last four away games in the Premier League (W3 D1), only enjoying a longer unbeaten run on the road under Fabian Hurzeler once previously in the top-flight (5 in 2024 December to 2025 January).

• Georginio Rutter's equaliser was the 11th scored by a substitute for Brighton this season in the Premier League, with no side netting more goals from substitutes in the competition this term (Arsenal also 11).

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Spurs' performance

What did you make of Brighton's display?

Come back on Monday for a selection of your replies

Tottenham boss Roberto de Zerbi has made four changes after overseeing a 1-0 loss to Sunderland in his first game in charge.

For his first home match as Spurs boss, De Zerbi hands midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur his first start since undergoing surgery on his hamstring in January.

Kevin Danso replaces the injured Cristian Romero in defence, while Yves Bissouma and Xavi Simons also come in for Archie Gray and Richarlison.

Another huge boost for Spurs is the return of James Maddison to the squad for the first time this season, after he suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in pre-season.

Tottenham XI: Kinsky, Porro, Danso, Van de Ven, Udogie, Bissouma, Gallagher, Bentancur, Kolo Muani, Solanke, Simons.

Subs: Austin, Dragusin, Palhinha, Richarlison, Maddison, Tel, Gray, Bergvall, Spence.

There are no changes for in-form Brighton.

Fabian Hurzeler's side have won five of their past six in the league as they make a late surge for European football, and the German names the same 11 that started in the 2-0 win over Burnley, with Danny Welbeck leading the line.

Brighton XI: Verbruggen, Wieffer, Van Hecke, Boscagli, Kadioglu, Ayari, Gross, Gomez, Hinshelwood, Minteh, Welbeck.

Subs: Steele, Igor, Rutter, Baleba, Kostoulas, Mitoma, De Cuyper, O'Riley, Veltman.

After Spurs lost to Sunderland in his first match in charge, Roberto de Zerbi said his players need a father figure, not a coach. He is trying to build their confidence but maybe that means he is not coaching them the way he wants to.

It's a bit of a head-scratcher, but then Tottenham's entire season has not made much sense. When you look at their team and their bench, they have got some incredible players.

Somehow, though, Spurs are still waiting for their first Premier League win of the year after playing 14 league games already in 2026. Looking at the table, they will need three wins, or at least two, from their final six games if they are going to climb out of the relegation zone and stay up.

They really should not be in this position but I am not sure they have got the stomach to get out of it now they are.

I just don't think they will get one of those wins against Brighton, who have come into a bit of form.

The Seagulls are on a run of three successive victories and have five wins in their past six games. I can see things going wrong for De Zerbi against his old club, so I am backing Brighton to nick the points here.

Sutton's prediction: 0-1

Read the full predictions and have your say here

There are five games in the Premier League on Saturday and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Brentford v Fulham (12:30)

• Leeds v Wolves (15:00) - Listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Newcastle v Bournemouth (15:00)

• Tottenham v Brighton (17:30) - Listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Chelsea v Man Utd (20:00)

Kick-off 15:00 BST unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction here

You can also listen to today's 5 Live Premier League commentaries on most smart speakers. Just say "ask BBC Sounds to play Leeds v Wolves" or "ask BBC Sounds to play Tottenham v Brighton", for instance.

Find out more about how to listen to Premier League football on BBC Sounds

Beleaguered Tottenham are without a league win in 2026, so can Roberto de Zerbi inspire them to victory in his first home match in charge against his former side Brighton on Saturday (17:30 BST)? BBC Sport looks at the key themes around the fixture.

Spurs close to unwanted home record

If their situation wasn't already serious enough, a morale-sapping weekend of results brought into even sharper focus just how much trouble Tottenham are in.

West Ham's crushing victory over Wolves, Nottingham Forest's battling point against Aston Villa and Leeds United's historic triumph at Old Trafford were sandwiched by a toothless defeat for Spurs at Sunderland in which they also lost captain Cristian Romero for the season.

There were only limited signs of a "new manager bounce" for Roberto de Zerbi in his first match in charge. He's since had another week on the training ground to try to instil some belief in his fragile squad. "I can be a big brother, father, they don't need a coach," he said of his plans to lift spirits.

The only one of Spurs' last 13 managers to lose their opening home game was his much-maligned predecessor Igor Tudor. Their home form remains an ongoing issue and if they are beaten again on Saturday, the Lilywhites will equal their club record of five successive home league losses set in February 1994.

So dismal have their performances been in front of their own fans that their tally of 10 home points is just one more than Brighton have picked up in their last three league matches alone.

Overall, Tottenham's winless streak in the league of 14 matches - dating back to 28 December - is just two shy of the longest such run in their history of 16 set between December 1934 and April 1935.

They also remain one of only two top-flight sides yet to win a match after failing behind along with Wolves.

Seagulls having flying end to season

In yet further bad news for Spurs and De Zerbi, his former side Brighton proudly sit on top of the Premier League form table having won five of their last six matches.

It is as many victories at they had managed in their previous 20 top-flight league games combined and has quelled rumours that Fabian Hurzeler's job was under threat.

Another three points would give them a fourth away win on the spin for the very first time in the top flight. The last time they conceded a goal on the road was on 11 February.

Their resurgence after such a tricky winter has firmly propelled them back into the mix for European football and they are only six points adrift of a Champions League place.

They have also enjoyed an excellent recent record against Tottenham, having lost just one of their last five against the north Londoners, scoring 14 goals in those matches, including four at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the final game of last season.

Holly Bacon
BBC Sport journalist

Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Tottenham at the Totteham Hotspur Stadium (kick-off 17:30 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Hurzeler said James Milner is still out but is "getting close" to a return. There was nothing else to report on team news.

• The Brighton boss says his predecessor Roberto De Zerbi is due recognition for his achievements with the Seagulls but maintains his full focus is on winning the game: "I think he deserves the praise because he had a huge impact here on this club. He 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 starts, it's a game between Brighton and Tottenham and our approach is the same. We are there to achieve something, we are there to win this game. We are there to keep showing the right habits and therefore that's our main focus."

• Hurzeler said "form doesn't win you games" and that they have a responsibility to "show the right habits".

• On Albion's upturn in form, he added: "Before we had this run now, our performances weren't bad, the only difference was that we weren't able to get the results. It is not a surprise for us." He also said the supporters are key and that they can really compete with that "togetherness".

• Hurzeler was asked whether he is surprised at the situation Spurs find themselves in: "I think everyone is a little bit surprised but on the other hand it's very important to understand how ruthless the Premier League can be, how tight the Premier League is. You need to be at your highest level every weekend. We experienced, with a bad run this season, if you're not doing the right behaviour daily then you have no chance at the weekend."

• Finally on Saturday's game, the Brighton boss said: "Our goal is that we make our supporters loud, proud and therefore we need to have our style of play. We need to go there and play intense football, don't give them any hope and be very mature in our approach."

Listen to commentary of Tottenham v Brighton on BBC Radio 5 Live from 17:30 BST on Saturday

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Got a question about Brighton? Get in touch here and we'll seek answers from our experts

England defender Joe Gomez, 28, remains a target for Brighton, Crystal Palace and AC Milan. (Telegraph - subscription required), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Image source, Getty Images

We asked for your views on whether Fabian Hurzeler has won fans over given a surge in recent form off the back of a difficult spell early in 2026.

Here are some of your comments:

Chris: I think he has a bright future. However, his naivety and lack of Premier League experience has been exposed at times this season. That said, when it comes to giving a manager time to develop, you couldn't pick a better club than Brighton. Tony Bloom doesn't panic and always sees the bigger picture.

Colin: Criticism of our manager at any point since his arrival has been laughable. He's been consistently excellent and is improving all the time. It was only a minority who dissented during our bad run and anyone with any sense could see that the performances were better than the results. I hope he stays for 10 years.

Tony: I have mostly been a 'Hurzeler in' fan but at times this season we seem to have gone backwards and at times the subs and tactics have been baffling. Having said that we now seem to be playing with more composure and a more attacking style. All is good for the future.

Westy: Has Hurzeler won me over? Maybe. In my case, the frustration and annoyance came from him making life hard for himself. I knew we could get results and be better, and now we are. The constant tinkering and playing players out of position was infuriating. The two times this season we've had a settled team are the the spells we've got results. He must learn from this.

Sam: I'm not sure it was ever a results issue. The frustration from the majority of fans came from a lack of connection with the manager. If those results had happened and Hurzeler had built a connection, the response wouldn't have been as extreme. Has he won over the fans? There is still work for him to do, but recent appearances from him at full time, rather than disappearing down the tunnel, certainly go a long way to building a connection that had been missing.

Chris: He's presided over two big dips in form. One each season. There's got to be big question marks over his confidence and how he passes that into our young players.

Brighton were on a six-game winless run in the Premier League from 7January until they overcame Brentford on 21 February.

At the time, the likes of Clinton Morrison spoke of "huge pressure" on Fabian Hurzeler given boos greeted some performances. Journalist Luke Edwards told the BBC things were "drifting" for the club.

In all, Hurzeler's side had only won one league game in 13 from 3 December to 14 February. The Seagulls have won five of their last six however.

So we want to know, has he won fans over? How do you feel about his position and the direction of things now?

Get in touch with your views here

Image source, Getty Images

Brighton defender Olivier Boscagli, speaking to BBC Radio Sussex about what the Seagulls need to do in the closing weeks of the season if they are to qualify for Europe:

"Just keep going and doing what we've been doing in the past six or seven games. We have shown we are a strong team and it's difficult to win against us.

"You see how important every point is, the table is really close. Everybody can lose now so it's quite exciting, but you have to keep focused and make sure you are working in the right way.

"[The win at Burnley] was a great game but we still have to improve some things, because we know the European places will be really tight.

"If we want to be part of it, we have to put every ingredient on the pitch and keep going like this."

On the Seagulls coming up against former Brighton boss Roberto de Zerbi, now in charge of Tottenham, on Saturday:

"It's a nice game for him because he knows the club really well and he has a really good image at this club. I can see he did a lot of good things here, but now he is at another club.

"Of course he will be happy to see some faces and some of the players will be happy to see him, but at the first whistle there will be no friends on the pitch.

"The only thing we want is to win the game and it doesn't matter with who or against who."

Listen to a full interview with Boscagli in the latest Albion Unlimited podcast on BBC Sounds

Image source, Getty Images

Two Premier League heavyweights are set to face each other this weekend at Etihad Stadium, as Manchester City host Arsenal.

Both teams go into the fixture with different targets. For Mikel Arteta's side, it is about extending their lead at the top of the table. For Pep Guardiola's side, it is about closing the gap and keeping themselves in the title race.

It is a fixture being labelled a title decider by some, so we want to know who you want to win this Sunday's match.

Will you be cheering on the Citizens or getting behind the Gunners?

Make your selection

On the latest episode of Albion Unlimited from BBC Radio Sussex, defender Olivier Boscagli reflects on Brighton's win against Burnley and there is a look ahead to Saturday's game at Tottenham - now managed by former Seagulls boss Roberto de Zerbi.

Listen below or on BBC Sounds here - and don't forget to subscribe to get each episode into your My Sounds feed.

Explore all Brighton content on BBC Sounds

Listen to every Brighton game live on BBC Radio Sussex, with all the build-up and full commentary with Johnny Cantor and Warren Aspinall, and there is a full preview of all Seagulls' matches on Fridays at 18:00 in The Weekend Warm-up

Joe Sayers
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

A total of 100 Premier League appearances for Jan Paul van Hecke at the Albion. It's a milestone that feels both remarkable and, somehow, inevitable.

Since his introduction in 2022, van Hecke's rise has been a story of patience, development and quiet belief. There were early moments where his enthusiasm spilled over into rash decisions, but even then, there was a sense he had the raw attributes to reach the very top. What perhaps few anticipated was just how complete a defender he would become.

Now he is fast establishing himself as one of the standout Dutch defenders in the Premier League. For many Albion fans, the turning point will always be that night against Manchester City, a 1-1 draw that sealed European qualification and a place in the club's history.

Up against Erling Haaland, one of the most feared forwards in world football, van Hecke delivered a performance of composure and authority. He didn't just compete, he controlled. It was the night he truly announced himself.

What has followed is consistency, leadership and a deep connection with the badge. JP van Hecke plays with such visible pride and determination that resonates with supporters, matched by a professionalism that sets the standard.

And yet, with that growth comes an uneasy thought. Players of this quality rarely go unnoticed. If the time comes when he moves on, there is little doubt he would thrive at any club in world football.

For now, though, Albion fans can celebrate a player who has not only reached 100 appearances, but has come to embody everything they value.

Find more from Joe Sayers at Albion Obsessed, external

Brighton's Bart Verbruggen might leave the Seagulls this summer with the Netherlands goalkeeper, 23, considering various options over his future. (Florian Plettenberg), external

Swansea have placed a £15m price tag on Slovenia striker Zan Vipotnik, 24, who leads the Championship goalscoring charts and has attracted interest from Brighton. (Football Insider), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Burnley and Brighton.

Here are some of your comments:

Burnley fans

Shaun: Typical Burnley! Played okay but with very little quality in the final third. Concede first, then have a good spell but don't kick on! The substitutions made were baffling again. Championship here we come!

Martin: Scott Parker is in cloud cuckooland if he thinks it was an even game. Forget stats - Brighton should have been out of sight by half time. I lost count of the number of times we lost possession. We had no quality without Hannibal Mejbri. This was one of the worst performances of the season, and that's saying something.

Paul: Woeful. The score flattered us. Brighton should have had another two in first half. We are toothless and low on confidence. Parker seems to have coached out any determination from the squad.

Michael: That's the least I've cared about a Burnley game since the Cotterill era. It's not necessarily that we're really bad, it's just bland, nothingness devoid of any excitement or emotion.

Brighton fans

David: A scruffy game but only to be expected against a side almost down, so we did not miss Lewis Dunks stability. We have the ability to take points from all of our remaining fixtures, so the dream of Europe is still alive.

Olly: A good win but made hard work of it. It is still a worry the number of chances that are missed. At least they have momentum for the final games and, if they keep it up, Europe next year is a real possibility.

Andrew: So good to see Brighton getting results against the lower teams too. The recent consistency must silence Fabian Hurzeler's critics.

Steve: Our quest for European football continues. Though the performance wasn't the best, the result is all that matters. But for a couple of very tight offside decisions this result may have been so different!

Coventry City want to make the loan move of Brighton goalkeeper Carl Rushworth, 24, a permanent one in the summer but face competition from Leeds United. (Teamtalk), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Pundits Alan Shearer and Danny Murphy join host Kelly Cates to bring you the action and talking points from Friday and Saturday's Premier League fixtures.

Watch on BBC iPlayer here

And listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Brentford 2-2 Everton

• Burnley 0-2 Brighton

• Liverpool 2-0 Fulham

Adwaidh Rajan
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Brighton's 2-0 triumph over Burnley in January was their only win in 13 league matches between 30 November and 21 February, and offered little more than a brief relief amid a worrying run of form.

But Saturday's 2-0 win against the same opponents carried far greater weight and purpose as it kept the Seagulls firmly in contention for a place in Europe next season.

They have now won five of their last six matches and, more importantly, did not let their momentum drop after three weeks without a game in the international break, following a 2-1 win against reigning champions Liverpool.

With the congested nature of the table and confirmation of the Premier League having at least five teams in the Champions League next season, Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler will fancy his chances of guiding the club to only their second continental campaign.

He was forced to watch this game from the stands as he began a two-match touchline ban for accumulating six yellow cards this term.

But his side still delivered a performance that reflected the German manager's influence - playing with discipline, pressing high up the pitch and making the possession count.

Dutch defender Mats Wieffer, who only returned from a toe injury at the end of February, proved to be an unlikely hero, scoring his first league goals since a 1-1 draw at West Ham back on 21 December 2024.

Staying within reach of the top six has been quite an emphatic turnaround for Hurzeler and Brighton, who have found form at the right time.

You can listen to Fabian Hurzeler and Mats Wieffer on BBC Sounds