Brighton v Cardiff. Match preview

Last updated : 03 October 2015 By Michael Morris

Cardiff face the Championship leaders at The Amex this afternoon. Brighton are the only unbeaten club in the whole of the Premier and Football leagues. It's also a return to one of his former clubs for Russell Slade.

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Brighton will be without wingers Jamie Murphy and Kazenga LuaLua when they host Cardiff.

Murphy starts a three-match ban after he was sent off at Bolton last weekend and LuaLua is sidelined by a groin injury suffered in training.

Striker Tomer Hemed hopes to be fit after a hamstring problem and right-back Bruno should overcome an ankle knock.

Midfielder Andrew Crofts, an unused substitute last weekend, could make his first appearance in a year following a serious knee injury.

Cardiff defender Lee Peltier is back in contention after missing last week's home win against Charlton due to a swollen leg.

Boss Russell Slade switched Fabio into the right-back slot last week and started with Scott Malone at left-back and must decide whether to make changes to accommodate Peltier.

Simon Moore will continue to deputise in goal as captain David Marshall completes a two-match suspension.

Slade will be without Federico Macheda for the next two months after the former Manchester United striker needed surgery to repair a disc injury, while Brighton old boys Craig Noone and Alex Revell are both set to start on the bench.

 

Brighton v Cardiff odds

Brighton are odds-on with Sky Bet to extend their unbeaten run in the Championship to six matches with victory over 3/1 shots Cardiff on Saturday.

The Seagulls are unbeaten in their last seven meetings with the Bluebirds and are 7/4 with the League sponsor to secure promotion to the top flight this season. Four of the last five meetings between the sides have finished all square and it's 7/2 to finish in a draw with both teams scoring.

Sam Baldock and Bobby Zamora are both 5/1 shots to open the scoring for the Seagulls, while Joe Mason is 11/2 to net in a win for the Bluebirds.

 

Possible line ups:

Brighton: D Stockdale; Bruno, U Hunemeier, G Greer, G Bong; L Rosenior, D Stephens (capt), B Kayal, S Baldock; B Zamora, T Hemed.

Cardiff City: S Moore; Fabio, S Morrison (capt), M Connolly, S Malone; A Pilkington, K Dikgacoi, P Whittingham, J Ralls; J Mason, K Jones.

 

Manager's view.

Brighton – Chris Hughton: “We’ll need the same spirit, the same desire we showed at Bolton (2-2 draw). We scored two goals away and I thought we could have got more. We got into some really good positions, but the final ball just let us down a little bit at times.”

Cardiff – Russell Slade: “Brighton have had a remarkable start, fantastic, to the season. But it’s good to be going there on the back of our win against Charlton. The fans were always very good when I was there. They seemed virtually down when I was appointed manager, but in the last seven matches we won five, drew one and lost one to stay up. There will be a few who remember it.”

Referee: Charles Breakspear (Surrey):