Roberto De Zerbi has revealed that a couple of his Brighton & Hove Albion players will need to be assessed ahead of Saturday's trip to Chelsea in the Premier League.
The Seagulls embark on both an important and busy period in their season, juggling duties in both the Premier League and FA Cup across the next two weeks.
A trip on Saturday to Graham Potter's former stomping ground Chelsea – now managed by interim boss Frank Lampard – will be followed by a visit to Wembley for an FA Cup semi-final clash with Manchester United, before ending the month with back-to-back Premier League games against Nottingham Forest and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Brighton have been one of the surprise success stories of this season's Premier League, with a number of first-team players elevating their game to new heights as the Seagulls push to qualify for Europe for the first time in their history.
De Zerbi's side currently sit seventh in the Premier League table, seven points above 11th-placed Chelsea and 10 points behind the top four with a game in hand.
© Reuters
Brighton will be looking to return to winning ways on Saturday after suffering a 2-1 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur last weekend, albeit in controversial circumstances, but they may not be at full strength for the trip to Stamford Bridge.
Indeed, De Zerbi has suggested that he has a few doubtful players that will be assessed ahead of kickoff against Chelsea.
Speaking at a press conference on Friday, the Italian said: "There's no big news. There are some problems, I want to see tomorrow morning before we decide the starting XI."
De Zerbi has provided a positive update on a number of senior stars, though, with club captain Lewis Dunk – who scored against Spurs last time out – expected to play along with the likes of in-demand midfield duo Alexis Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo.
© Reuters
"I think Dunk will play, Mac Allister, Caicedo, [Kaoru] Mitoma, [Solly] March, [Pervis] Estupinan, but normally I want to see in the week of work to decide better," said De Zerbi as quoted by The Argus.
"In this period, we play a lot of games so I have to be ready to change something in the first XI."
One player who will definitely miss Saturday's game is Chelsea loanee Levi Colwill who is ineligible to face his parent club, with Adam Webster the most likely candidate to replace him in the starting lineup.
Adam Lallana (thigh), Jeremy Sarmiento (ankle) and Jakub Moder (knee) all remain sidelined with injuries, while former Chelsea youngster Tariq Lamptey has missed the last six matches with a knee problem and may also miss the visit to West London.
Brighton have never won a league fixture at Stamford Bridge, but they will be confident of securing maximum points on Saturday having already beaten Chelsea 4-1 on home soil earlier this season.
Oliver Thomas
