Brighton & Hove Albion head coach Roberto De Zerbi has revealed that four first-team players will miss Thursday's Premier League clash against Newcastle United at St James' Park.
The Seagulls travel to the North East in buoyant mood after securing an exceptional 3-0 away victory against Arsenal on Sunday to help boost their hopes of qualifying for Europe.
Four notable absentees from the win at the Emirates Stadium were Solly March, Adam Webster, Joel Veltman and Robert Sanchez with the former three all suffering with injuries.
March, one of Brighton's standout performers since the arrival of De Zerbi, sustained a hamstring injury in the 5-1 home loss to Everton last week, while defensive duo Webster and Veltman are recovering from muscle problems.
Meanwhile, goalkeeper Sanchez was left out of the matchday squad last weekend, with De Zerbi explaining that he reached "an agreement" with the Spaniard for him to not travel to North London with the rest of the team.
Speaking after the win over Arsenal, De Zerbi said: "[Me and Sanchez] spoke two days ago (Friday). We found an agreement that today (Sunday) he is not going to come here [Arsenal]. He knew he was not going to play so we found an agreement on that".
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Sanchez has lost his place as Brighton's number one goalkeeper to Jason Steele, and has started only one of the Seagulls' last 12 Premier League matches.
Addressing the media on Wednesday ahead of Thursday's clash with Newcastle, De Zerbi said: "No Veltman, no Webster, no March and no Sanchez tomorrow.
"We will more or less have the same squad as against Arsenal. I need to think of the condition of my players.
"With Robert [Sanchez], we spoke before Sunday and the solution was for him to stay at home."
Brighton are also still without Adam Lallana (thigh), Jakub Moder (ACL), Tariq Lamptey (knee) and Jeremy Sarmiento (ankle), but De Zerbi has confirmed that Julio Enciso, who scored against Arsenal, is fit to feature despite coming off in the second half of Sunday's win with a knock.
"Julio Enciso is okay but in terms of first eleven for tomorrow, I am losing sleep for the best team," De Zerbi added. "We can't lose any more players, we can't take any more risks – but we will aim to win tomorrow, the first of four games in 12 days."
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Brighton remain on course for their highest-ever Premier League finish as they currently sit sixth in the table, seven points behind fifth-placed Liverpool and one point above Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa in seventh and eighth respectively with two games in hand.
De Zerbi is expecting a "tough game" against Champions League-hopefuls Newcastle and believes that his side need to secure "historic results" to achieve their target in the final four games of the season.
"At this part of the season, the most important part for my players is mentality," said the Italian. "They need to accept the pressure and intensity... we have to be ready, we want to reach our target."
"Eddie Howe has done an incredible job, they deserve to play in the Champions League. They're a very strong team. It will be a tough game for us but also them. We are fighting for history and to achieve history, we need historic results."
"For me it is an honour to play at Newcastle's stadium and I'm looking forward to it. It will be nice to play and we will play to win. We have the same respect for every team but have the same aim every time we're on the pitch."
Brighton played out a goalless draw with Newcastle in the reverse fixture at the Amex Stadium back in August under the tutelage of former boss Graham Potter.
Oliver Thomas
