Brighton vs AEK Athens tips: Rampant Brighton to bash AEK in clash of styles
Brighton's Evan Ferguson
Planet Sport's Robbie Savage is expecting Brighton's first-ever appearance in the Europa League to be a big success as they welcome Greek champions AEK Athens to the AMEX Stadium.
AEK Athens’ record against English clubs in Europe isn’t great. They’ve played 12 times and lost on nine occasions.
Brighton absolutely flying in the Premier League, four wins from five, beating Manchester United, beating Newcastle.
What a team De Zerbi has assembled. What a football club Brighton is.
I think their first ever game in the Europa League, home advantage, it’s a game that Brighton will win and win to nil.
I’m going to go Brighton two, AEK Athens nil.
Robbie’s Pick: Brighton 2-0 AEK Athens
Brighton vs AEK Athens team news
Brighton will need to balance making changes with keeping enough quality on the pitch but James Milner, Igor Julio, Carlos Baleba and Bart Verbruggen could all feature here.
The dangerous attacking trio of Joao Pedro, Ansu Fati and Evan Ferguson could also make a start on Thursday with the latter back from injury.
Despite facing title challengers Olympiakos at the weekend, AEK Athens were able to rotate slightly in their 1-1 draw. Orbelin Pineda and Gerasimos Mitoglou should return to the XI.
The experienced Domagoj Vida will miss out due to injury while Petros Mantelos will return from suspension to partner Ezequiel Ponce with Niclas Eliasson and Steven Zuber wide of them.
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Brighton have made a super start to the season, thumping Luton and Wolves 4-1 and building on those results in the coming weeks.
The 3-1 win against Newcastle was followed by a 3-1 win away Old Trafford, both of which confirm Brighton’s class and potential as a top-four team.
Their 3-1 defeat at the hands of West Ham did offer a blueprint on how the stifle them, but the Greek visitors will show no interest in sitting deep and defending their box.
Matias Almeyda helped AEK Athens to a league and cup double last season, impressing and earning a five-year contract extension after arriving from MLS.
Much like his counterpart Roberto De Zerbi, Almeyda employs a unique style. He’s known for his energetic, man-marking system, and it’s unlikely he’ll sacrifice his principles here.
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It’s fair to say it’s produced varying results over the years and already this season it’s seen them producing a stunning 3-2 win while playing 70 minutes with 10 men.
Equally, the system’s flaws were exposed during their 3-1 Champions League loss to Antwerp, with all three goals coming as a result of one player out of position leaving acres of space.
The risk versus reward of Albion’s own system has been evident for years and they’ve yet to keep a clean sheet this season.
When Lewis Dunk and co present the bate at the back, Almeyda’s side will definitely bite and leave spaces, so we’re expecting an end-to-end game full of chances.
The hosts should have far too much quality and will be able to exploit the gaps in AEK's system with relative ease so we're predicting an emphatic victory on Brighton's big night.
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