Sussex

Eight changes for Oxford from the side who lost 1-0 to Birmingham.

Summer signings Nik Prelec and Luke Harris are on the bench and could come on for debuts.

Oxford XI: Ingram, Long, Moore, Spencer, Currie, Vaulks, Brannagan, Phillips, Placheta, Mills, M Harris.

Subs: Bradshaw, Cumming, De Keersmaecker, Goodrham, Harris, Prelec, Sibley, Snowden, Ter Avest.

Brighton change the entire team who lost 2-0 to Everton.

There are debuts for summer signing defenders Olivier Boscagli and Diego Coppola, and a first start for 17-year-old Harry Howell.

Brighton XI: Steele, Julio, Gruda, Hinshelwood, Milner, Boscagli, Kadioglu, Gomez, Veltman, Coppola, Howell.

Subs: Kostoulas, Lamptey, McGill, O'Riley, Baleba, Simmonds, Tasker, Tzimas, Watson.

There are four games involving Premier League sides in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Everton v Mansfield Town

• Fulham v Bristol City

• Oxford United v Brighton

• Grimsby Town v Manchester United (20:00) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

Kick-off times 19:45 BST unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction here

Johnny Cantor
BBC Radio Sussex reporter

Image source, Getty Images

What an impressive individual Diego Coppola is at just 21 years of age.

He talks well and is quite charming actually. Very softly spoken but, having seen him on the pitch, there are probably two sides to his personality.

A soft, warm figure when you chat to him, but when you see him on the pitch he is wholehearted and physical. As he said in his interview with me - 'I want the striker to know, I want them to feel me right behind'.

Whether he will be able to do that in the UK we will have to wait and see but he really spoke well and will be itching to get his opportunity.

Knowing where you are is important. Everybody is of a similar age at Brighton. He is 21, Lewis Dunk and Danny Welbeck are older, but the large majority are younger players and he knows he is not going to have to rush. He knows the club will give him time and knows the club will give him opportunities.

That is quite important, knowing where you fit into things, but also just trying to impress every training session. I felt he articulated that very well.

He is not just expecting to just come straight in. He's not just thinking 'I'm an Italy international and I should be coming straight into this side at Brighton', he is more 'no, I have just come into a new club in a new county and I've just got to work hard and deserve to be in the starting XI'.

Listen to Johnny's full chat with Coppola in Albion Unlimited on BBC Sounds

Image source, Getty Images

Summer addition Diego Coppola could make his first competitive appearance for Brighton on Wednesday when they travel to Oxford United in the Carabao Cup, after head coach Fabian Hurzeler hinted at his inclusion during Tuesday's news conference.

The 21-year-old defender is confident he will make the most of any opportunity to play but remains in "no rush" as he enjoys his time with the Seagulls.

"I'm super happy with my situation here and I'm settling in very, very good," Coppola told BBC Radio Sussex's Albion Unlimited podcast. "I've found a house and have a car, so everything is fine.

"Also, on the pitch and the training ground, I really like the work we're putting in. I like the team - we are a young team, so everyone is more or less my age and I'm having good relationships with everybody.

"I've only experienced Hellas Verona - my team in Italy - so let's say the structure and the training ground here is way bigger and with more facilities. A bigger gym, a sauna, a spa - so it's a big step for me and I'm really enjoying it.

"He [Hurzeler] wants us to go 100% in training, have the right mentality and put the team before ourselves – that's the most important thing.

"I think he's quite happy with how I'm doing and I hope I'll get my game time, but there's no rush because the league just started.

"I will get chances - and when I do, I will do good."

Listen to the full chat and more on BBC Sounds

Karan Vinod
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Brighton are open to the prospect of letting attacking midfielder Facundo Buonanotte leave on loan this summer.

The 20-year-old spent the 2024-25 season on loan at Leicester City and has been linked with a move away to secure regular first-team football.

Sources have told BBC Sport the Seagulls would consider a loan switch.

Buonanotte joined Brighton from Rosario Central in January 2023 and has shown glimpses of his potential in the Premier League. However, the Argentine has struggled for minutes and was on loan last season at Leicester City, featuring in 31 Premier League games and starting in 14 of them.

BBC Sport understands that several clubs are interested in securing the services of the midfielder. Brighton remain keen to ensure that any move would guarantee sufficient playing time to continue his progression

Buonanotte has found the net 13 times in his 103 Premier League appearances with the Seagulls and Leicester City.

The latest episode BBC Radio Sussex's Albion Unlimited podcast has dropped!

Host Johnny Cantor and former Seagull Warren Aspinall preview Brighton's trip to Oxford United on Wednesday evening, plus we hear from midfielder Yasin Ayari on last week's Everton defeat and catch up with summer signing Diego Coppola.

Listen to the full episode 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

Marissa Thomas
BBC Sport journalist

Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler has been speaking to the media before Wednesday's Carabao Cup second-round tie at Championship side Oxford United (kick-off 19:45 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Hurzeler confirmed "everyone is available, we have the full squad" for the trip.

• On a chance to give different players opportunities: "There will be opportunities for players who didn't play that much in the first games, a chance for everyone to show themselves - but I can promise we take it very seriously and there is competition in the squad. We go into this game to try to win it and go into the next round."

• On Oxford United: "We expect an opponent who is very good in their defence and defensive shape. They are very compact and they have a lot of physical players in the last line, so it will not be easy to outplay them. They don't give away a lot of chances. We have to be good regarding the long balls and tough in the personal duels. It will be a challenge and a good opportunity for us to do better than last weekend."

• On the competition: "It's a cup game, a tournament where you can win a trophy. That is the expectation from the club so we have to take it seriously, we want to give our fans what they deserve. I'm sure there will be a lot of away fans again who spend a lot of time and money, so we have to go there and show our best performance. We have to show how good we are."

• On what winning the Carabao Cup can do for a club: "It doesn't have the tradition like the FA Cup, but we saw last season with Newcastle that if you win a title, it is still something special, the supporters are still very proud of their team and they enjoyed celebrating a title together."

• Hurzeler said "there is no new news" regarding the transfer window, adding: "We still have a very big squad so we have to reduce the squad. There are not any things I can comment at the moment. The transfer window closes soon so hopefully we have clarity for our squad and our planning."

• On new defensive signings Diego Coppola and Olivier Boscagli: "I saw them in the friendly games and they made a good impression, so they will have a chance tomorrow to show how good they are, to show that they are competitive for us. They have both integrated into the group quickly. They are good characters with potential to help us. I'm sure they will show a good performance tomorrow and I'm sure long term they will help our squad."

Follow the rest of Tuesday's football news

Scott McCarthy
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

In the three transfer windows for which Fabian Hurzeler has been Brighton head coach, Tony Bloom has not so much loosened the purse strings as cut them off and set them on fire.

The Albion have spent a quarter of a billion pounds on new players. Yet despite this splurge, Hurzeler was able to name only one centre-forward in his matchday squad for the trip to Everton - Danny Welbeck.

This led to the comedic scene at Hill Dickinson Stadium of Jan Paul van Hecke being thrown up front in the closing stages. And subsequently strolling offside.

It seems 51 million of those significant transfer chips have been placed alongside gyros in a basket labelled 'Greek teenage strikers'.

Stefanos Tzimas and Charalampos Kostoulas barely featured in pre-season because Hurzeler believes they need a period of adjustment to English football.

If Hurzeler considered them not ready to face Wycombe Wanderers or Stoke City in a friendly, they are unsurprisingly yet to make a Premier League squad.

Which is fair enough. The jump for Tzimas from Bundesliga 2 and Kostoulas from the Greek league is massive. Once they have adapted and are unleashed, they could end up being the best things since tzatziki.

But in the here and now, the opening two games have seen the Albion look woefully short up front and toothless in taking opportunities. We have subsequently made our worst start to a season since our Premier League debut in 2017-18.

By the time the Greek duo have had the weeks (or heaven forbid, months) they need to get ready, there is a very real danger Brighton could be so far off the top seven pace as to make qualifying for Europe difficult.

And that will disappoint a lot of Seagulls supporters who have heard from Hurzeler, the players and decision-makers at the Albion that Europe is the aim after a 'transitional' 2024-25.

Find more from Scott McCarthy at We Are Brighton, external