FA Cup | Third Round

Jan 11, 2025 at 3pm UK

Carrow Road

Norwich City vs Brighton

Match Preview

Norwich and Brighton will face off for the first time in more than two years, this time in the FA Cup on Saturday. The last time these two teams met was in the Premier League, with two 0-0 draws in the 21-22 season.

And,at the end of that season, Norwich was relegated after finishing bottom of the table with only 23 points and has not returned to the Premier League in recent years.

However, the new year has been fruitful for Norwich. The Canaries entered this game after winning their last two games. Amankwa Forson's two stoppage-time goals helped them come from behind to beat Coventry City 2-1.

They have 3 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss in their last 5 Championship games, temporarily ranking 11th, but they are not far from the play-offs, with only 4 points behind.

The home team's defense is their big problem. Among all teams ranked in the top half of the Championship, they have conceded 37 goals, the second most, second only to Sheffield Wednesday's 40 goals. They need to think carefully about how to limit Brighton's attackers at home.

It is well known that Brighton is a difficult team to play against, as they have proved in recent games. Although they have not been able to win recently and move forward in the standings, they have not allowed their opponents to win in the last four games: after the 1-1 draw with Arsenal at home, the Seagulls have drawn for the fourth consecutive game.

Overall, they have not won any of the last eight games, and two of them ended in defeat. Like the home team, Brighton's defense is not very good. In the last four away games, Brighton has conceded an average of 2 goals per game, and the same is true against relatively low-ranked opponents such as Leicester City and Crystal Palace.

On what the FA Cup means to Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler,he said: "It's similar to the Carabao Cup. It's a competition where you have a chance to win a title. There are a lot of good opponents in this cup competition but, in the end, it's only one game - and in one game, anything is possible."

Recent Performance

Norwich City recent form(in Championship):LWDWW

Brighton recent form(in Premier League):LDDDD

Team News

Josh Sargent has missed the last 14 league matches for the Canaries due to a groin injury that he suffered in late-October.Norwich City are hoping to have Josh Sargent back available for Saturday.

While The Canaries have a selection problem in their engine room, with Liam Gibbs (hamstring) and Anis Ben Slimane (leg) set to miss the majority of January.

Ken Aboh has returned to the club from a loan spell at Stevenage and goalkeeper Vicente Reyes has also returned from a loan spell at Cambridge United.

As for Brighton,there are "some issues" in the squad with Lewis Dunk, Jack Hinshelwood and Mats Wieffer all unavailable because of injury. There are doubts about Danny Welbeck's availability but he will be assessed again on Friday.

Joao Pedro will also miss the game after "twisting his ankle in training", with the club waiting for an MRI scan on the forward's injury, while the game comes "too early" for new signing Diego Gomez.

Fabian Hurzeler anticipates the trip to Carrow Road will be "hard work" and they "cannot underestimate" the Championship side. The players will be prepared "physically and mentally" for a "big fight" and a "great atmosphere".

Possible starting lineup

Norwich City possible starting lineup

Gunn,Fisher,Duffy,Doyle,Chrisene,Núñez,Marcondes,McLean,Schwartau,Crnac,Sainz,Hernández

Brighton possible starting lineup

Steele,Lamptey,Hecke,Julio,Kadioglu,Moder,Ayari,Gruda,Enciso,Adingra,Ferguson