Brighton host Crystal Palace in the M23 derby at the American Express Community Stadium on Sunday afternoon, with Brighton on 13 points and Palace on seven after six league games.
Brighton have won their last three league games, scoring 10 goals without conceding. Fabian Hurzeler has not beaten Palace in four meetings (D1 L3), and Palace are unbeaten in their last four against Brighton (W3 D1), including a 1-0 win at the Amex in February. Palace beat Nottingham Forest 3-1 last Sunday but lost 3-2 at Lyon, Pierre Sage’s former club, in the Europa League on Thursday.
Brighton vs Crystal Palace – Match preview and team news
- Date: Sunday, 18 October 2026
- Kick-off: 14:00 BST
- Venue: American Express Community Stadium
- Last meeting: Brighton 0-1 Crystal Palace, Premier League, 8 February 2026
Team news
Brighton
Kaoru Mitoma, Femi Azeez, Zadok Yohanna, Evan Ferguson and Stefanos Tzimas are unavailable, and Hurzeler said Yankuba Minteh and Mats Wieffer could return quite soon. Pascal Struijk (hamstring) was due to be assessed on Saturday after his red card at Sunderland was rescinded on appeal. Jack Hinshelwood returned from injury in midweek, and Charalampos Kostoulas is expected to lead the line.
Crystal Palace
Chadi Riad (knee) is out for the season, and Axel Disasi serves the final match of a suspension for a red card against Ipswich Town. Dean Henderson (foot), Jean-Philippe Mateta, Takehiro Tomiyasu (calf) and Ben Chilwell (knee) are doubtful. Sage said before the Forest game that Henderson, Mateta and Tomiyasu should return for Lyon or Brighton, though Mateta and Tomiyasu are unlikely to start.
Form
Brighton
Brighton have won four, drawn one and lost one of their six league games, with the defeat a 4-3 loss at Chelsea. They have scored a division-high 18 league goals and beat Kauno Zalgiris 4-0 in the Conference League on Thursday, their third four-goal win at the Amex this season. Pascal Gross has seven goal contributions in six league games.
Crystal Palace
Palace have won two, drawn one and lost three of their league games, scoring nine and conceding 12. The 3-1 win over Forest was their first league win since Fulham on 30 August. They lost 3-2 at Lyon on Thursday, ending a three-game unbeaten run, though Yeremy Pino scored in both games. Ismaila Sarr is back from injury.
Predicted lineups
Brighton predicted XI: Verbruggen; Kadioglu, Vuskovic, Struijk, Boscagli; Gross, Andres, Gomez, Ayari, De Cuyper; Kostoulas
Crystal Palace predicted XI: Henderson; Lerma, Richards, Canvot; Khalaili, Timber, Wharton, Mitchell; Kamada, Pino, Strand Larsen
How to watch Brighton vs Crystal Palace?
The match will be broadcast live in the United Kingdom on Sky Sports.
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