Brighton head coach Fabian Hurzeler has confirmed some early team ahead of the Carabao Cup clash vs. Liverpool, while their captain has been ruled out.
Liverpool head to the Amex on Wednesday for the first of two meetings with Brighton in the space of four days.
Arne Slot is expected to make changes for the fourth-round tie, while his counterpart Hurzeler has already confirmed one of his alterations.
Speaking to journalists in his pre-match press conference on Tuesday, the 31-year-old head coach revealed that goalkeeper Jason Steele would start.
Steele has only featured three times so far this season and only once since August – that being the 3-2 win over Wolves in the previous round of the Carabao Cup.
But with Hurzeler seemingly subscribing to the concept of the cup goalkeeper, Steele will start again on Wednesday night.
He could even captain Brighton, with Lewis Dunk unavailable against Liverpool having picked up a calf injury in the warmup before Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Wolves in the Premier League.
Dunk is also expected to be absent for the league clash at Anfield on Saturday, though Hurzeler said he would take it “day by day.”
Meanwhile, James Milner (thigh), Adam Webster (thigh), Matt O’Riley (ankle), Joao Pedro (ankle) and Solly March (knee) are all still out and Georginio Rutter is cup-tied.
Hurzeler also revealed that midfielder Jack Hinshelwood – who missed the Wolves game with a minor injury – and winger Yankuba Minteh – out for two games with a muscle problem – could come back into contention for the cup.
The same applies for Tariq Lamptey, with the head coach suggesting the right wing-back would be involved having impressed in training.
In the absence of Dunk, Brighton only have two specialist senior centre-backs in Igor Julio and Jan Paul van Hecke, but Hurzeler does otherwise have options to rotate.
The likes of Mats Wieffer, Jakub Moder, Simon Adingra and Evan Ferguson could all come into the side, though it remains to be seen how the head coach will approach things.
Steele, Moder, Adingra, Minteh, Ferguson and Julio Enciso all started in the previous round but have not been regulars in the league.
Possible Brighton XI: Steele; Lamptey, Van Hecke, Igor, Estupinan; Adingra, Baleba, Moder, Kadioglu; Enciso, Ferguson
