As Brighton boss Chris Hughton prepares his team for the derby game against Crystal Palace he is treating all the remaining Premier League fixtures as “the biggest” games.
The Seagulls are four points above Palace, and Palace could drop into the relegation places if Southampton were to beat Chelsea in the early kick off game. If Southampton were to win Palace would be kicking off in the highly charged Selhurst Park atmosphere with another big motivation against rivals Brighton.
Brighton taking the Palace game as an opportunity to pick up points
Brighton are seven points above the relegation zone, Hughton remarked that how important it is for his to team to get points at Selhurst Park, and that other teams below them are “very capable” of picking up results.
"It would be a nice one not to lose. It's very difficult at this stage to speak about six-pointers, because they are all very big games," Hughton said.
Brighton beat Palace 2-1 in the FA Cup third round this season, but the last win at Selhurst Park was 1-0 back in the Championship in October 2005.
Palace have only won once in their last 10 Premier League games, where Brighton’s last league win was back in early March a 2-1 home win against Arsenal, however they did manage a point at home last week against Huddersfield.
Brighton will have back Anthony Knockaert, a big game player after suspension. Palace will look to Wilfred Zaha a key player to inflict damage on The Seagulls. The game will be intense for both sets of fans and even the neutrals which will make an interesting spectacle. This game is crucial for both bitter rivals in the fight for Premier League survival.