Joao Pedro returns as Brighton make four changes for Crystal Palace clash

The Albion head coach has recalled Joao Pedro, Jack Hinshelwood, Carlos Baleba, and Igor Julio for the 8pm contest at Selhurst Park.

Conversely, James Milner, Adam Lallana, and Evan Ferguson drop to the bench, while Joel Veltman is out injured.

The Eagles sit nine points and six places behind the ninth-positioned Brighton but the Sussex side have not beaten their bitter rivals away from home since 2019.

A win would take the Seagulls seventh in the league ahead of this latest round of Premier League fixtures.

Ahead of the game, De Zerbi said: “We would like to play every game with a hot atmosphere because we are lucky to play at this level, to compete in this game and I always have spoken about the emotion that football can give.

"Tomorrow (Thursday) will be another big day in terms of emotion, we have to play seriously, for our fans, for the table, because we have to be disappointed to look at the table because we deserve a different position. But I don’t want to us suffer in this atmosphere, otherwise we might as well have a different job.”

Starting XI: Bart Verbruggen, Jack Hinshelwood, Jan Paul van Hecke, Lewis Dunk, Igor Julio, Carlos Baleba, Pascal Gross, Billy Gilmour, Simon Adingra, Kaoru Mitoma, Joao Pedro

Substitutes: Jason Steele, James Milner, Mahmoud Dahoud, Adam Lallana, Jakub Moder, Danny Welbeck, Evan Ferguson, Facundo Buonanotte, Leigh Kavanagh