Manager De Zerbi was unhappy with the result last time out as Brighton lost the lead twice again against Leeds Utd. They controlled the match with 62% ball possession, but still had difficulty getting into sharp situations. They were in control of the game from start to finish but failed to hold on and surrendered two leads to drop 2 points at Leeds. They are in 7th place and have 5 points up to 5th Newcastle United, who have played one game more. The dream of playing in Europe is still alive, but Brighton must start winning again. In the last game a few weeks ago, Brighton completely outplayed Crystal Palace in London and it's a real miracle that the "Eagles" didn't lose that game. Brighton has the 4th-best xG in the league, while Crystal Palace is in last place in terms of xG (expected goals.). Coach Viera can be happy where his team is in view of that fact, but goalscoring still remains the biggest problem of his team. Crystal Palace has failed to find the back of the net in the last three rounds. However, they have played well in defense. In the last 5 league matches, there has been at most 1 goal conceded, per match. Against Liverpool, there was a recent goalless event. Most recently, it was 0-1 against the reigning champions Man City, where top scorer Haaland netted from the penalty spot, in the 78th minute of the match. But the question is how much more Crystal Palace can be lucky and win points in games they deserve to lose. Brighton outplayed them in London and I think they will surely outplay them in their stadium. I expect the home team to win, but I don't believe that it will be a big result, and I expect a hard game and a home team victory with a minimum score.
