Ten Brighton players out of Leicester City clash as Fabian Hurzeler makes Jamie Vardy point
Brighton winger Kaoru Mitoma is a doubt to face Leicester City this weekend which could see the Seagulls’ list of absences reach double figures.
The tricky wide-man will try to come through training ahead of Saturday’s game against City, manager Fabian Hurzeler said, but there is a possibility he misses out at the Amex Stadium.
Brighton also have centre-back Jan Paul van Hecke suspended after his red card in their last outing, a 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace.
The Seagulls already had a lengthy injury list, with Georginio Rutter, Adam Webster, Joel Veltman, James Milner, Ferdi Kadioglu, Tariq Lamptey, Jason Steele, and Igor Julio all out.
Van Hecke’s suspension combined with Webster and Veltman’s injuries leave Brighton short at the back and it may be that January signing Eiran Cashin, brought in from Derby, could be handed his first Premier League start.
Hurzeler has also suggested midfielder Carlos Baleba could drop back into the centre of defence.
Brighton come into the game after a difficult fortnight that saw them lose on penalties in the FA Cup quarter-final before suffering back-to-back defeats to Aston Villa and Crystal Palace to damage their European hopes.
They will still be heavy favourites to beat a City side that has lost their last eight, failing to score in all of those matches, but Hurzeler is urging his team not to think that way, and has asked them to be wary of Jamie Vardy in particular.
“When I saw the last games from Leicester, the results weren’t great for them but there were always opportunities for them to get back in the game or to get the lead,” the Brighton boss said at his press conference.
“They have individual quality, they have Jamie Vardy who is always good for a goal, they have a good midfield, they are very physical. They can hurt every opponent.
“It’s not about having a mindset that we will be the better team and outplay them. It’s about having the mindset of being the challenger and we have to go into this game to try to outwork and outrun them.
“We have to be sharp in every situation because they have individual quality and can beat any team in the league.”
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