The M23 derby rarely needs selling, but it always finds a new angle anyway. This time it’s Brighton looking for rhythm and a signature moment under Fabian Hürzeler, while Oliver Glasner arrives juggling both a stuttering run and the fallout of a transfer window that tried to tug his attack apart.
Brighton’s season has flickered between slick and sticky, often in the same match. At their best they build patiently, lure you in, then slip the ball into the spaces behind a full-back. At their worst, they dominate the ball and still look like they’re trying to open a tin with a spoon. The derby offers a brutal kind of clarity: nobody cares how pretty the possession was if the other lot leave with the points.
Palace’s week has revolved around the Jean-Philippe Mateta situation, and Glasner was unusually candid. “The most important thing is always the players’ welfare,” he said, explaining the knee issue that derailed the proposed move. He confirmed Mateta won’t feature against Brighton or in the next league game, and spoke about the club weighing up surgery versus managing the problem. It’s a significant blow because Mateta has been their reference point, the striker who makes Palace’s direct play stick and gives their wide men something to aim at.
The flip side is the new face up top. Glasner talked up Jørgen Strand Larsen’s profile and mentality, saying he’s “hungry to score goals” and highlighting his movement in the box. That raises the derby’s most interesting question: can Palace change their attacking feel without their established focal point, or does it become a game of hopeful crosses and long diagonals?
Brighton’s team news leans on absences that affect depth and options rather than ripping out the spine. Adam Webster and Stefanos Tzimas are long-term issues, while Solly March and Mats Wieffer are also sidelined. The encouraging note is that Diego Gomez has been passed fit and could return to the squad. There’s also a milestone hovering: if James Milner features, he draws level with the Premier League appearance record, which adds a little extra electricity to the afternoon.
Palace have boosts elsewhere. Glasner confirmed Daichi Kamada is back, Borna Sosa is available again, and Adam Wharton returns from suspension. That’s a serious injection of control and ball progression, the very things Palace have lacked when games get stretched.
On the pitch, Brighton will want Mitoma and the wide rotations to isolate Palace’s full-backs and create cut-back chances rather than aimless crosses. Palace will look to disrupt Brighton’s build-up and spring quickly into the channels, especially if Brighton commit numbers and leave space behind the midfield line.
Derbies are often decided by a tiny detail that becomes enormous in hindsight: one loose pass in the wrong zone, one set-piece not attacked, one second ball not won. Brighton have the home edge and more settled patterns. Palace have the derby edge that comes from desperation and a returning midfield. Expect it to be spiky, fast, and emotionally loud even when the ball is quiet.
