Sussex

Michael Emons
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Brighton go into the final day of the Premier League season still in contention to qualify for European football for only the second time in their history.

A superb 3-2 win over champions Liverpool, in which the Seagulls fought back from 1-0 and 2-1 down, took Fabian Hurzeler's side eighth in the Premier League.

However, they need to win at Tottenham on Sunday and hope results go in their favour, with Brighton needing Chelsea to lose to Nottingham Forest on Sunday and then for Enzo Maresca's side to win the Conference League final against Real Betis on 28 May.

If those things happen, Brighton will be again in European competition after reaching the last-16 of the Europa League in the 2023-24 campaign.

Against Liverpool, the hosts were the better team in the second half and credit must go to Hurzeler as his substitutions proved key, with Kaoru Mitoma scoring within five minutes of his introduction and Jack Hinshelwood netting 78 seconds after coming on when he headed in from a cross from Matt O'Riley, another sub.

That 85th-minute winning goal from Hinshelwood was the fourth quickest by a substitute in the Premier League this season after he came on with his 17-year-old cousin Henry Howell, who became the youngest Brighton player.

Were you at the game or following it elsewhere?

Brighton fans, what did you think of your performance?

Have your say on Liverpool's display

Come back to this page on Tuesday to find a selection of your replies

Scott McCarthy
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

How was your Saturday? Mine was lovely. I spent it taking down the back section of my garden fence.

At 4.30 pm, I drove to the tip and disposed of all the old wood. Back home at 5.30pm. Showered. Went to the pub at 6pm (one without a television) for a couple of pints after a hard day's graft.

All of which meant I did not see a second of the FA Cup final. Which was just as well, based on the head loss Crystal Palace winning caused amongst many Brighton supporters.

Ever since Albion reached the Premier League, it has felt like we are the club with the better long-term prospects. Better stadium. Better training ground. Better transfer and recruitment model. A better owner willing to invest. But Palace have now won a major piece of silverware. Something Brighton are yet to do.

Decision-makers at the Albion love their reputation as 'The Best Run Club in the Premier League'. They proudly talk about how much money they have made in the transfer market.

All of which is great. But then you see (or in my case, don't) Palace make history. On the grass rather than a spreadsheet. Which ultimately is what being a supporter is all about.

No fan gets into football to chant "Record profit for a Premier League club, you'll never sing that". We do it for memories made on the pitch.

What makes seeing Palace win the FA Cup particularly painful is that their ride to glory has coincided with Brighton's season falling apart.

Entering the final week of March, the Albion had a winnable FA Cup quarter-final tie and were in the race for a top-five finish. A special campaign could have been on the cards.

But instead of Champions League or Wembley glory, we only have being sustainable and well-run to show for the season.

No bad thing, of course. Maybe it is pure greed to want a trophy on top of that? But I would give anything to see Brighton win the FA Cup. Rather than spending the final day with an old fence.

Find more from Scott McCarthy at We Are Brighton, external

It's so hard to make a prediction for this game because I have no idea what the Liverpool line-up will look like, or what their mindset will be.

Arne Slot's side will lift the Premier League trophy at Anfield after their final game of the season against Crystal Palace next weekend. Their work is done, and they have got that party to look forward to, so how focused will they be here?

As things stand, Brighton do have something to play for because eighth place will get them in the Europa Conference League, if Manchester City win the FA Cup.

The Seagulls played really well at Wolves last week, and fully deserved their win.

They gave Liverpool a good game at Anfield earlier in the season, when they led 1-0 at half-time but lost 2-1, and if Slot picks a weakened team then they are good enough to take advantage.

Sutton's prediction: 2-1

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Before this season, Crystal Palace's victory at Wembley would have tidied up the European qualification position within the Premier League.

However, England gaining a coveted European Performance Spot has added a layer of complication, which is why Brentford, Brighton, Bournemouth and Fulham fans should not give up hope of a Conference League place just yet.

Here is why.

Ordinarily, England gets four Champions League places, two in the Europa League, for the FA Cup winners and the fifth placed team and one in the Conference League for the Carabao Cup winners.

So far, so straightforward.

If the Carabao Cup winners qualify for one of the higher ranking European competitions, the Conference League spot goes to the next team down in the Premier League.

Just as Manchester United or Tottenham will qualify for the Champions League because one of them will win the Europa League after finishing outside the Champions League places, the same is also true for Chelsea if they win the Conference League and finish outside the Europa League places.

Still with me?

The complication comes through EPS. So, while fifth now gets you into the Champions League and sixth into the Europa League, for the purposes of competition qualification, the EPS situation doesn't count.

So, if Chelsea finish sixth and win the Conference League, without EPS, they would already be in the Conference League berth, so they go into the Europa League as Conference League winners and England would not take its Conference League place. With EPS added, instead of the sixth-placed team (Chelsea) qualifying for the Europa League through their league placing, because they are already in, the seventh-placed team benefits. So that would be three English teams in the Europa League and none in the Conference League.

By the same process, if Chelsea finish seventh and win the Conference League, without EPS, they would qualify for the Europa League despite being outside the European places, meaning three English teams in the Europa League – Chelsea, Palace and the fifth placed team – and one – the sixth-placed team – in the Conference League. With EPS added, everything drops down a place BUT as Chelsea are already in the Europa League, instead of the Conference League spot going to them after finishing seventh, it goes to the eighth placed team.

In other words, the teams battling for eighth need Chelsea to win the Conference League and to finish seventh.