'It is very important not to overreact'published at 18:25 5 April
18:25 5 April
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Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler has been speaking to BBC Match of the Day: "If you are not playing at the highest level, it is difficult to win Premier League games. It was a tough game, very emotional.
"It was difficult to get control in the game and we were not able to do this over the 90 minutes. We have to analyse that and find out why.
"It is a very young group and they learn from these mistakes. We have to help them get better. It is very important not to overreact. It is about staying together and seeing the positive things.
"It is very important to be very honest with one another."
Crystal Palace 2-1 Brighton: Key statspublished at 18:10 5 April
18:10 5 April
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Crystal Palace completed a league double against Brighton for the first time since 1932-33 and for the first time ever in the top-flight.
Danny Welbeck scored his eighth Premier League goal of the season, while he also has four assists. Only in 2011-12 for Manchester United has he had more goal involvements in a single campaign. He also scored his 31st Premier League goal for Brighton, overtaking Pascal Gross (30) to become the Seagulls' leading scorer in the competition.
Sutton's predictions: Crystal Palace v Brightonpublished at 11:02 5 April
11:02 5 April
There are a few derby games this weekend and this one - the M23 derby - is one of my favourites.
Both of these teams surprised me a bit last time out, and not in a good way.
Crystal Palace have been in great form but only drew with Southampton and I backed Brighton to beat Aston Villa, who absolutely walloped them in the end.
I promise I am not going to go for a draw with every prediction I make this week but the past five meetings between these two at Selhurst Park have ended 1-1, so that scoreline seems like a decent shout this time too.
Hurzeler on team news, derby bragging rights and Palace defencepublished at 10:27 4 April
10:27 4 April
Karan Vinod BBC Sport journalist
Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Crystal Palace (kick-off 15:00 BST).
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
Hurzeler has confirmed that the same squad available from the Aston Villa loss will also be available for Palace, with Joel Veltman still out.
On the reaction he has seen from his squad after tough losses this week against Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa: "Quite well. We have to deal with setbacks and it's always about how you come back. We have to focus on the things that make us strong. It's about small margins - it's about details. We always stay positive."
Hurzeler was "happy" with Brajan Gruda and Joao Pedro's performances against Villa and said debutant Eiran Cashin's performance "made a good impression".
Hurzeler reiterated that the club needs two things - "togetherness and positive energy" - as they approach the climax to the season.
On bagging derby bragging rights against Palace having lost at home to their rivals in December: "I can feel it and it's also our responsibility to give them something back. In the first derby, we weren't at the highest level. Tomorrow it's an opportunity for us to make it better than last time."
Hurzeler hailed Palace as "one of the best teams in transition and one of the best teams in set-pieces."
On breaking down Palace's stern defence: "Everyone defends - everyone has the mindset to defend. It is not easy to play through the block so we have to find other solutions. It is important to be patient, because if you force it, you will give them opportunities to win the ball and they can attack with their transition players."
Crystal Palace v Brighton: Did you know?published at 09:01 4 April
09:01 4 April
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Following their 3-1 win at Amex Stadium in December, Crystal Palace are looking to complete their first league double over Brighton since 1932-33 and their first time in the top flight.
Each of the past five Premier League meetings between Crystal Palace and Brighton at Selhurst Park has finished 1-1. No specific fixture in English top-flight history has finished with the same scoreline on six consecutive occasions before.
Carlos Baleba has scored two Premier League goals in London this season, netting against Chelsea and Fulham. The only Seagulls players to net three goals in the capital in one season are Glenn Murray (three in 2017-18 and four in 2018-19) and Leandro Trossard (three in 2021-22).
How will Brighton's season be rated?published at 13:33 3 April
13:33 3 April
Simon Stone Chief football news reporter
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What a bizarre season this has been for Fabian Hurzeler and Brighton. Runs of positive results, followed by a succession of negative ones.
Form and injuries can be factors, but how do you explain this sequence...
Victories over Manchester City and at Bournemouth, then eight games without one, followed by three in a row, then two defeats, then six wins on the spin and now three without a victory, culminating in a heavy home loss to Aston Villa.
Marginal decisions went against Albion in the Villa game, just as a penalty shootout defeat by Nottingham Forest may end up being a painful postscript to the season.
A European place is still within reach, which given Brighton's history would be an achievement to cherish.
But the inconsistency that has scarred the campaign means we are going to get to the summer still not really knowing whether this has been a good season or not.
Brighton 0-3 Aston Villa - the fans' verdictpublished at 11:47 3 April
11:47 3 April
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We asked for your views on Brighton's Premier League match against Aston Villa. Here are some of your comments:
Brighton fans
Jon: Another game in which Brighton are outperformed by a physically stronger and well organised team. Just as they did with Everton and Nottingham Forest, Brighton seemed lightweight compared with Villa.
Fran: Very lacklustre from the Seagulls with too many passes going astray, poor decision-making around the Villa goal and a defence that seemed very unsure. Also, I am not sure why we play the ball into the corner and give defenders time to get across in numbers and block everything. We need to be more aggressive and direct and somebody needs to take responsibility and have a shot at goal instead of passing it! Never normally leave a game early but I did with this. Nothing to get excited about.
Rob: Scoreline really did not reflect the game. The disallowed goal, which was a marginal decision, changed the game. Looking forward to next season when something is done about the ridiculous time-wasting, which is spoiling the game for spectators.
Villa fans
James: Not our best performance but it just shows the mentality of the team now, winning when not completely firing. Also being able to bring those sort of players off the bench to change and influence games is amazing.
David: Brighton were very good but our quality showed in the end. Two assists for Morgan Rogers and great to see Donyell Malen score and get some love from the fans. Every game between now and the end of the season is a cup final for us to make the top five. It's lucky Emery is a bit of cup specialist!
Mike: Boubacar Kamara is just special - he's our Rodri, and he's no less of a player. One of, if not the most underrated players in world football. Love him!
'They punished us' - Adingrapublished at 08:58 3 April
08:58 3 April
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Brighton winger Simon Adingra spoke to BBC Radio Sussex after Wednesday's defeat against Aston Villa: "I think we were in control of the game at the beginning, but we made some mistakes and they punished us. We have to react quickly because the Premier League is quick. If you're not compact, you get punished.
"I feel good [to be back starting] and it was good for my confidence to be in front of the fans. Hopefully in the next game we can do better - we have many games ahead of us so we have to focus and keep going."
On Saturday's match against rivals Crystal Palace: "We take every game as the same. We don't have big or small games - it's just Premier League games and we have to focus on ourselves."
Brighton 0-3 Aston Villa: Analysispublished at 08:47 3 April
08:47 3 April
Phil McNulty Chief football writer
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Brighton's fans delivered a smattering of boos when the final whistle sounded on a damaging defeat at Amex Stadium.
It was more an expression of frustration than fury, this disappointing result following hot on the heels of Saturday's FA Cup quarter-final loss on penalties to Nottingham Forest.
The rigours of extra time and penalties, as well as the result, looked to have taken its toll on Brighton as they struggled for spark before running out of steam, ending well-beaten.
The scoreline was harsh but Aston Villa fully merited a win that puts them above Brighton into seventh place in the Premier League table.
Brighton were offered brief hope when Simon Adringra bundled home what they thought was an equaliser, shortly after Rashford opened the scoring, but it was correctly disallowed for Kaoru Mitoma's handball.
Villa then made the most of their reprieve to eventually overpower a tiring Brighton.
Catch up on the Premier League actionpublished at 07:54 3 April
07:54 3 April
Highlights and analysis from nine midweek Premier League fixtures.
'The first goal changed the game' - Hurzelerpublished at 23:16 2 April
23:16 2 April
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Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler, speaking to Sky Sports: "After the goal for them, the game changed. They defended in a low block and it was quite good. We weren't able to create any more chances. The first goal changed the game.
"It was frustrating in that moment to concede a goal so easily. We were dominant. We needed a bit of time. We scored but it was disallowed. It was a mix of everything but we have to do it better.
"These are the things we can influence on the pitch. How we are positioned off the corner and high pressure. We need to do these right otherwise you don't deserve to win.
"I would say we were just not precise. I don't think the maturity would have made the difference today.
"Do the small things right. To do the things we need to win on the pitch. These we have to maximize. We have to work on this and we have to take the next chance on Saturday."
Sutton's predictions: Brighton v Aston Villapublished at 10:37 2 April
10:37 2 April
What a season Aston Villa are having, with a Champions League quarter-final and FA Cup semi-final to look forward to.
Their recruitment in January has been key - a lot has been made of how well Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio are playing after joining on loan, and rightly so.
Whether Villa can turn them into permanent signings in the summer might depend on whether they get in next season's Champions League, however.
While this is exactly the scenario they want, finishing in the top five is going to be tough on top of everything else, and it is games like this where everything might catch up with them.
Brighton drew a blank against Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup on Saturday but Villa are a bit more expansive, and I feel like the Seagulls will have plenty of chances here.
Brighton v Aston Villa: Did you know?published at 08:30 2 April
08:30 2 April
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Brighton have won just one of their five Premier League home games against Aston Villa, which was in this exact fixture last season (1-0 in May).
Brighton have won each of their past three Premier League games at Amex Stadium and are looking to win four home matches in a row for the very first time in the top flight.
Excluding penalties, no side has scored more goals from set-pieces in the Premier League this season than Aston Villa (13), but only Brentford (three) and Manchester City (five) have conceded fewer goals from set plays in the competition this term than Brighton (six).
Gossip: Brighton set £100m asking price for Pedro and Baleba published at 07:23 2 April
07:23 2 April
Brighton have put £100m price tags on 23-year-old Brazil forward Joao Pedro and 21-year-old Cameroon midfielder Carlos Baleba to fend off interest from Liverpool, Newcastle and Chelsea. (Talksport), external
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