Can Brighton do it on a cold Tuesday night in Stoke?
The days when the Bet365 Stadium was the most feared venue in English football may be gone, but do no mistake Stoke City away as an easy FA Cup draw for Brighton.
Roberto De Zerbi would use the Carabao Cup cock up at Charlton Athletic to illustrate the point. The Albion’s head coach frequently reminds anyone who will listen how angry he remains at a genuine chance of reaching a Wembley final slipping through his side’s fingers via elimination at the hands of a struggling League One side.
When it comes to Stoke, there are more reasons to be concerned about a Brighton defeat than just the magic of the cup and the possibility of an upset, as was the case at the Valley.
Because Brighton are historically woeful against the Potters. The Albion have just one victory from the past 18 matches between the sides.
Paul Watson scored in a 1-0 Withdean success in the 2001-02 season, a campaign which finished with Brighton as Division Two champions and Stoke promoted alongside Peter Taylor’s Seagull as playoff final winners.
The Albion have never won at the Bet365 Stadium in six visits, scoring only twice. Lee Steele notched in a 3-1 defeat six months after that Watson winner at Withdean.
Chris Hughton’s Brighton then produced one of the best team goals in Albion history on their most recent trip to Stoke, a sweeping one-touch passing move finished off by Jose Izquierdo.
“Am I watching Brighton or Barcelona?” as the famous commentary line went. A reminder that for all of Hughton’s defensive tendencies, his teams could also play football. A first point from the Bet365 was assured right at the death by a brilliant Maty Ryan penalty save.
The Albion’s record at the old Victoria Ground was not much better either; three wins from 17 visits, the most recent of which came in 1961 when Ian McNeill got the only goal in a 1-0 victory.
Zero comes up on the roulette table at the Hellspin casino almost as often as Brighton come away from the Potteries with victory.
Horrible visits to the Stoke go beyond just football. On Saturday 18th October 1980, Brighton vice-chairman Harry Bloom – grandfather of Tony – passed away suddenly travelling to the Victoria Ground to watch the Albion.
Something to consider perhaps should it not go according to plan for Brighton in the Potteries on this occasion – football is not really more important than life and death, as a famous Liverpool manager once said.
An already tough looking assignment has been made that bit more difficult by the injuries currently sweeping through the Albion squad.
De Zerbi confirmed in his press conference that both Pervis Estupinan and Solly March will miss the game. They have been arguably Brighton’s best two players through February and will be difficult to replace.
Especially Estupinan; the Albion have a severe lack of depth at left back with the Ecuadorian the only natural option there.
Tariq Lamptey looks to be the only alternative and whilst he did a good job on his first deployment down the left when Brighton won 3-1 at Arsenal in the Carabao Cup back in November, one swallow does not make a summer.
As for March, his absence will give one of the young South American attackers an opportunity to start. Julio Enciso, Jeremy Sarmiento or Facundo Buonanotte all have reasonable claims to come in down the right.
It will be interesting to see who De Zerbi opts for. Buonanotte is currently flavour of the month having been brought on ahead of Enciso and Sarmiento in recent home matches against Plucky Little Bournemouth and Fulham.
A full debut for Brighton away at Stoke would be quite the introduction to English football for the 18-year-old from Argentina.
With Levi Colwill and Adam Lallana still sidelined, the opportunity for De Zerbi to make wholesale changes are limited with options already stretched.
Whether he would give fringe players a go even if everyone was fit and available is doubtful. He went virtually full strength at Charlton and earlier in the FA Cup at Middlesbrough, the only unenforced selection decision coming in goal where Jason Steele has replaced Robert Sanchez for every cup game so far.
De Zerbi talks of Wembley and Europe with the conviction of a man who believes Brighton can challenge for silverware and qualify for continental competition.
Drawing at Crystal Palace and defeat to Fulham means the two have become more intrinsically linked. The Albion are down to eighth in the Premier League; if they cannot make it into the Champions League, Europa League or Conference via a top seven finish, then the FA Cup provides another potential route to Thursday nights in Bucharest and Poznan.
Reaching Wembley will not be easy. Travelling to in-form Middlesbrough looked a banana skin of a tie, only for Brighton to sweep aside their hosts 5-1.
Holders Liverpool were then eliminated at the Amex, meaning that three of the European Super League Elite Six – the Redmen, Arsenal and Glow Up Graham’s Chelsea – are already out of the FA Cup.
It would of course be Typical Brighton to beat reigning champions Liverpool in round four before crashing and burning against a Stoke side 17th in the Championship with three league wins from their past 11 matches.
De Zerbi’s determination to introduce a big club mentality to the Albion means eradicating the frequency with which these Typical Brighton events occur.
The question now – can Brighton do it on a cold Tuesday night in Stoke?
