Hurzeler plays down talks of Europe as Brighton hit hot form

Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler has distanced himself from talks of securing European football ahead of the midweek Premier League action.

The Seagulls are climbing the table after picking up an impressive win against Southampton on Saturday and now sit just three points against sixth-placed Bournemouth, who they face on Tuesday.

But the German refused to speculate on whether his side could return to Europe with an impressive run to the end of the season.

Speaking ahead of the game, he said: “When you win games, there is always a good atmosphere. We are grateful it’s like this but it’s hard work. We need to keep the momentum and understand why we have this momentum.

“I never look too much at the table. You can only influence how you play. At the end of the season, you can look at the table. But at the moment, it’s game by game and trying to get the best performance out of the players.

“The key thing at this club is developing young players and the group. We had a lot of new signings when we started. Now it’s about having internal goals on where we want to go. We will see what happens at the end of the season, but it’s too early to talk about reaching Europe. We have to wait for the right moment to talk about it.”

Our boss. 💛💙 pic.twitter.com/8JubGwsV9o

— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) February 23, 2025

Cherries in town

Brighton have a massive opportunity to draw level on points with their European rivals when Bournemouth visit the Amex.

The Seagulls have a worse goal difference to their opponents, meaning a win could not lift them into sixth depending on other results but it would put them right in the mix.

But Andoni Iraola’s side have been one of the surprises of the season in 2024-25 and on their day can match any Premier League club.

Hurzeler is aware of this and admits it is difficult to know what to expect from them.

He added:  “It’s difficult to create a match plan against Bournemouth but it’s difficult to do that for any of the clubs in the league. Bournemouth are very clear in the style they play.

“They are very intense. It will be a challenge for us to compete against them and we need to be mentally and physically on the highest level to be ready for them.

“But we will be able to do it because we have proved it in the last weeks. We have to keep the standards and to improve to be ready for the challenge against Bournemouth.

“Dango Ouattara, Antoine Semenyo and Justin Kluivert are all very fast and athletic. They are all very good in transitions. But we need to try and avoid these transition moments.”

This duo. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/aoS8kYQiEc

— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) February 22, 2025

Pedro power

If Brighton are to win, they will need to rely on the quality of Joao Pedro, who is finally coming back into form.

The Brazilian netted the opener against Southampton and will likely get the nod to start again in such an important match.

Hurzeler said of his striker: “Joao is a player who always has the self-confidence. He knows he can decide the game with one action. He not only has that thinking, but also the quality and skills to do it as he has proven last week.

“It’s more important for me how he behaves as a team player and he proved last week he was always there for his team-mates. It showed me he is really committed to this club and wants to be the team player that everyone wants him to be.

“I am very happy that he has come back on the pitch and deserves what he gets because of his behaviour, his attitude in training and of course, his quality.”